Taking Care of his Person
by dunuelos
Summary: Just a random thought started this. Okay. Not totally. I was reading a lot of Donna/Josh fics and this was something which I thought of. What if Josh was a bit more demonstrative of Donna's importance earlier in the series? Josh decides to actually pay attention. I marked it as complete as I've taken it as far as my muse went. Up for adoption if anyone wants to take it further.
1. Josh Considers Donna's Future

A/N: Just a random thought started this. Okay. Not totally. I was reading a lot of Donna/Josh fics and this was something which I thought of. What if Josh was a bit more demonstrative of Donna's importance earlier in the series?

Late on Night Five (S03E14)

Joshua Lyman squeezed his eyes shut for a moment to force them to lose focus, allowing him to focus again. The unconscious gesture did force him to become slightly more alert.

It didn't last long. The Congressional facebook Donna had gotten him swam before him as exhaustion crept in. Knowing that he could no longer stay alert and that forcing himself would no longer work, he absently flipped the cover over to close the book and sat back, letting his head drop against the back of the couch.

He closed his eyes and sighed. At least, he reflected, he would remember the difference between Cooper and Hooper.

His mind cast itself randomly as he forced himself to relax. He should have done the memorization a year ago. Unfortunately, he had been still recovering when the midterm elections had been completed. And in getting back to normal, he had done only minimal work on this necessary step.

As Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief Political Advisor, he was the Administration's point man on most of its dealings with Congress on a day to day basis. He was the one who kept track of bills, laws, and possible trouble spots.

When he had been out Donna had taken the lead on many things, which she did in addition to making sure he recovered. She hadn't been his nursemaid but it had been close.

Donna. The name gave him both pleasure and annoyance. He really would have been at sea without her both during and after his recovery. His mind flashed onto their exchange earlier and a bit of despair crept through.

She had been offered a job. It was a dot com job, which he had immediately mocked in a small way, but her rejoinder had been quick: Her current job may be gone in a year. If the President lost the election, everyone would be scrambling for jobs.

He was not really worried about it. Ritchie was the shaping up to be the likely opponent out of the primaries and he was, in Josh's opinion, an idiot. He was the Governor of Florida, but he was not a vast thinker.

Of course he knew that Ritchie had handlers which propped him up. The RNC had seen the writing on the wall and were starting to muster behind the man. That was just like the Republicans: Have someone who could spout loudly toward a conservative base and throw mud at the Democrats.

Josh snorted. There were so many people more intelligent than Ritchie. Bartlet was smarter. He was smarter. _Donna_ was smarter.

Donna. He tried to be dismissive of the job offer she had mentioned but Josh knew exactly how good she really was. Issues Director? She could do that in her sleep. She knew all of that and even if sometimes her insecurities came through, she really understood issues and their implications.

He had made certain of that.

When he had gotten her hired, he had been dismissive of her lack of a college degree. In some ways it made it easier: Her thinking was in many ways uncluttered by final-year college professors who would force her into one mindset or another. She had been in the process of finding herself and he had molded her into what he needed to get his job done.

But he felt a bit guilty too.

When the job was done she would have a lot of experience for a resume, but many people would see the incomplete college degree and dismiss the idea of hiring her, ignoring how smart, talented, and experienced she was.

She deserved more. He remembered the disconsolate feeling that she would see the offer as an opportunity and would leave him. He couldn't give her a raise and she was as high as she could go given her lack of formal education on paper. No matter how educated she truly was.

No one else had caught the Stackhouse thing during that filibuster. She identified the issue and found the needed out – because she listened to him and remembered everything; everything he said, and everything she read.

People said his was a once-in-a-generation political mind. The President was smarter, but idealistic. You needed idealism to be a US President. It didn't work without idealism. That was who you needed to set the agenda. Minds like his, minds like Leo's: These were the minds that did the necessary gymnastics to help achieve those idealistic goals.

Donna was different. She was idealistic in the same way that the President was. But she was the details type. She was the kind of mind that people like the President and people like himself needed to get the job done.

Without Donna or someone like her, he couldn't do his job.

But he knew that he was responsible for her. She was so much more than a glorified secretary, even if he wasn't always good about showing it.

He needed to seriously consider what he owed to her past the immediate needs of the moment.

The first thing he needed to do …

His next awareness was the sun coming through the front window of his apartment.

* * *

Later that week, Josh finally had a chance to talk to the man who had the answers – at least he hoped so. It was Thursday and he wasn't right in the middle of any emergency. There was a lull – Congress was in between legislative sessions. Being an election year, the number of legislative dates was lower – the people of Congress were working on their campaigns.

The White House hummed along as normal. Governing was much more than passing laws and working on budgets. There were always things to do and today was no different. However, little required Josh Lyman's immediate attention.

President Bartlet was in the Oval but was mostly dealing with reports. Charlie Young, Personal Aide, was not busy and that was the man that Josh needed to talk to.

"Charlie. Buddy. How ya' doing?" Josh asked in cheerful voice.

Charlie looked up at the man who got him the job he had. He was close to the senior staff and he knew that this tone of voice was often problematic. "What do you need?"

Josh chuckled and then became a bit more serious. "You got a minute?"

"Just a minute or is this going to be a thing?" he asked.

"A couple of minutes. Five at most." Josh motioned toward the chair nearby.

Charlie nodded to indicate it was fine. "Okay. Shoot."

"Question. You've got probably the second hardest job in the White House." Charlie actually blinked at that. No matter how close he was, Charlie was on a far lower rung than Josh Lyman and for him to so casually say it in such a way that it was understood was surprising. It was incredibly thoughtful as well. "You also take care of your sister and you also are working on your college degree in your spare time. Which you don't actually have. How in the hell do you do it?"

Charlie blinked again. This was nowhere near what he thought it might be. "Incredible time management." Josh snorted even as Charlie gave him one of his smiles which showed amusement. "Actually …."

The two talked for quite a few minutes. Finally Charlie asked, "What is all of this about?"

Josh sighed and then looked around to make certain they weren't being overheard. "Something which occurred to me. I have an assistant who is also incredibly busy. But she joined the campaign without having finished college. I realize that in a few years – about four and a half, optimistically, she's going to need another job. She also is good enough to do more around here but her lack of a formal degree would likely make it difficult to put her in such a position. So I'm going to do what I need to see that she gets the degree while not allowing her job to suffer. You have the most experience around here so I came to you."

Charlie was a little bit in awe. Josh Lyman was not known as being considerate in this way. He was curious though. "Does she know you're thinking about this?"

"No. And if you could keep it to yourself until I send her to you for advice, I'd appreciate it. I want to do what I can to make it an easy decision for her – and the best circumstances for her to agree. So after I get her transcripts sent to me to see what she's actually done, I'm going to ask for help to find out what can transfer and what degrees she could complete with the least difficulty. And then I'll lay it out." Josh looked quite earnest.

"Woah," Charlie said with some surprise. "I didn't know you had it in you." He wasn't being mean – just honest.

Josh gave a half-smile/half-grimace. "I didn't either." Josh noted Charlie's attention refocus and he looked over. The two of them stood up immediately.

"Josh? You preventing my guy from doing his job?" the President asked with some humor.

Josh gave his practiced smile. "No. Just checking up on him. Seeing how he's doing and when he's gonna graduate so I can give him a real job."

Charlie looked horrified. President Bartlet recognized Josh was trying to be funny. "A real job?"

"Yeah. He's only working a hundred hours a week. That's 68 hours a week he's slacking off. He's got it too easy."

Josh and the President chuckled together. Charlie just wanted Josh to go away now. "I'll take that into consideration when I decide what he needs to do next."

"Good," Josh said with a wide grin. He then looked at Charlie. "Give Deanna my best." He nodded at Charlie and then said, "Thank you, Mr. President." That was protocol.

Jed Bartlet looked after his Deputy Chief of Staff with some curiosity. "What was all that about?" he asked his bodyman.

Charlie smiled. "As far-fetched as it seems, he really was just checking up on me and seeing how I'm doing. He's the one who put me up for this job and he likes to make sure I'm doing okay." A truth, but not the whole truth.

The President looked a little surprised but nodded. "Well, alright then. I'm going to be out of the office for a bit. A window opened up and Abbey also has some time. So I'm going to be …." He struggled to finish without saying it.

"Barbecuing?" Charlie asked with him small, secret smile.

"Right," the President said with a wide smile. "I'll be back for the 2:00 meeting in plenty of time. You can call up if there's a national emergency. And it better be one if I do get a call."

"Right. Thank you, Mr. President." Bartlet nodded and then walked off, a certain spring in his step.

* * *

It was lunch and Donna was out. She had offered to pick him up a sandwich and he had agreed cheerfully. He had handed over his card and said, "For going for me, I'll buy your lunch too. Put them both on that." He gave her a dimpled smile.

Donna looked momentarily surprised. "Aren't you a little worried I'm going to go crazy with your card?" she asked with an arch tone.

"You're going down to a deli. How much could you buy between here and the deli?" he asked incredulously.

She shrugged, a smile on her face. "There could be a shoe store between here and there."

He rolled his eyes. "Well, if you buys shoes, make sure they're sensible. No Loubitan's or anything like that." He looked at Donna's face. "What?"

"I'm shocked that you've even heard of Loubitan's."

He grimaced painfully. "Blame CJ and Mandy. Last year during a late night, they started talking shoes and I was unfortunately unable to get away despite my best efforts."

Donna smirked. "Were they trying to explain what you should have bought Mandy to keep your relationship from crashing and burning?" she asked. Mandy was old news and she had no worried about her showing up again. She was in LA now working for celebrities.

He raised his voice in annoyance. "Go. Lunch. Now!"

She giggled and said, "I'll be back."

"Okay."

He sat at his desk and waited until he was certain she was gone. Finally he picked up the phone and made a call. "Hello. This is Josh Lyman." He smirked. "I know I never call you. But I was wondering if you had a few minutes for me to ask a question." After a pause he said, "No. I'll come there. I just need some advice." Pause. "Okay. I'm on my way."

Josh got up and walked out. He said to one of the other staff, "I'll be back. If there's an emergency you have my pager number, right?" The staffer nodded. "Good. I'll be back in twenty minutes. Tops." He strolled off.

* * *

He peered around as he walked to the office he needed to go to. Finally, he reached the door and tapped on it. "Come in," he heard the voice call. He opened the door and walked in, giving his best smile.

"Josh Lyman. As I live and breathe. You don't write, you don't call." The tone was amused.

"Ainsley Hayes. This is an improvement over the last office." He glanced around. "I see you brought the posters."

She smiled happily. "When they moved me closer, I asked Sam because they were his posters. He said I could have them." She paused. "It was a very nice gesture."

"Sam's a nice guy." He motioned toward the chair and she nodded. "Even when he's being told that Kirkwood isn't in the state he thought it was."

She laughed. "That was fun – even if I was nervous during that interview."

"It didn't show," he said with admiration.

"Thank you," she replied. She then peered at him. "What can I help you with?" Her tone was slightly suspicious.

"You know, not every conversation with me is a left-wing conspiracy."

"No. Just most of them," she smiled, her own dimples showing.

He laughed. "No. Nothing like that. I want to find out if I'm violating workplace regulations."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

He explained the entire thing.

"So let me get this straight: You're making plans to give your assistant the means and time to complete a college degree, despite the possible inconveniences to your schedule. And you're worried about workplace regulations?" she asked the last incredulously.

"Well, she's a friend. And I don't want to be accused of favoritism. This is entirely for her because of how important she is and how much she took on when I was recovering from Roslyn. She basically made sure that my job was done and that the White House didn't implode. She was just offered a job, which she didn't take, likely making more than that President's base salary." He paused. "Though the President started getting double his previous salary last year. And Congress has been raising their pay every year. I really wish we could afford giving Donna a raise too – she's earned it."

"Why can't you give her a raise?" she asked curiously.

"White House salaries have been locked in," he said with some minor sadness. "It's hard to justify."

"You're the Deputy Chief of Staff. Congress has been raising their salary every year for cost-of-living adjustments. There was a budget surplus. Don't you think you should push for the same cost-of-living adjustment for the staff?" she asked with asperity.

He paused. "Wow. I never thought of it that way. If I get together with the finance office and put together a proposal, should I put it through you to make sure it's legal?" He smiled at her.

"I am Assistant Counsel. It's the kind of thing that's my job."

He grinned. "I'll have them quietly put together a proposal – we don't need rumors. But on what I'm asking about …."

"No. I can't think of any regulations you'd be violating. But you're going to have to actually talk to her soon – some of the things you'll need to ask about will require her to ask as privacy is involved and you can't run her life."

"But I can ask for transcripts and check with Georgetown to see what's transferable without talking to her first?"

Ainsley considered that. "I can't see any legal trouble with that." She paused. "And I think I'm going to offer to help."

"Really?" he asked with some incredulity.

"I think it's incredible sweet that you're looking out for Donna in this. And if you ask for her transcripts it'll have to go through her to get to you. If I ask, I can say that it's for her file and not a legal issue. Transcripts are commonly put in personnel files. I can make sure it's all legal and quiet."

"Thanks," he said with some wonder. "I'll owe you a dinner." He paused. "Although the way Sam goes on about you eating, maybe a snack." He gave her a grin.

She smiled in return even as she rolled her eyes. "I'm not that bad."

"Sure. Whatever you say." He laughed.

"That's incredibly mean and here I am offering to help you," she said playfully.

As he stood up he replied, "Just don't bankrupt me when you decide what I can buy you for dinner as thanks. No lobster."

She paused thoughtfully. "I don't like lobster. I prefer crab. And chicken. And chicken-fried steak. I miss my mother's chicken-fried steak. Oh. And her shrimp and grits …."

He recognized when she was distracted. Finally he interrupted her. "Okay. Just let me know."

"I will." She then paused and said, "Now I'm hungry."

Josh laughed and pulled out a twenty. "Here. Whatever that'll cover. And I'll still buy you dinner when you come through."

She grinned at him and accepted the twenty. "They have some pie that looked really good in the mess."

The two left her office, walking in different directions.

* * *

It was Monday nearing lunch when Ainsley Hayes walked into the ops area. "Is he available?" she asked Donna.

She looked at her fellow blond curiously. "Sure." She raised her voice after winking at Ainsley. "JOSH!"

Josh, who was focused on a folder, jumped. He looked through the open door. "Donna!"

She looked at him. "That was for old time's sake. Ainsley Hayes is here to see you."

"Thanks," he said with some irony. "Come in." Donna looked at him curiously. "Just something I asked her about – no emergency." His smile showed he wasn't nervous and her face relaxed from her momentary worry.

"Okay. Remember – Leo needs that report by 2:00."

"Okay. This'll be quick."

Ainsley was motioned in and Josh closed the door. Donna looked at it for a long moment and then went back to what she had been doing.

Ainsley looked at him curiously. "You two have a unique relationship."

"So I've been told. So …."

"I looked through our files from the whole Congressional hearings history. As a part of the prep, we had a certified copy of what you asked for. I thought I'd bring it." She pulled the papers from her briefcase and handed them over.

He quickly looked through the items. His eyebrows rose. "I think I know exactly when Dr. Freeride interfered with her life."

"Dr. Freeride?" Ainsley asked curiously.

He shook his head. "Long story. Let's just say that her ex-boyfriend took advantage and leave it at that. He was having her support him while he went to medical school."

Ainsley looked annoyed at that. She didn't like women being taken advantage of and was actually quite a feminist despite being a conservative Republican. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah. His loss, our gain." He smiled. "Her grades were quite good."

"I noticed that. She had a remarkably wide array of courses."

He grinned. "She changed Majors at every opportunity."

"But I think with just about thirty more credits, she'd qualify for a number of possible degrees," Ainsley volunteered.

"Which on her schedule could take a couple of years. I'm going to get Charlie to help her plan – he's doing a degree while staffing the President. He's been successful at getting through it and working a schedule that's tougher than most."

"What does he think about it?" she asked curiously.

He gave her a dimpled smile. "He seemed quite happy at the idea when I asked him about it and told him what I was planning."

"Okay. Good then." She paused. "Who's going to make sure she has time to do the required work?"

"I am of course," Josh replied with some disdain.

Ainsley shook her head slightly. "I'm sorry. But I've heard stories. When you get focused, you work day and night and force everyone around you to work day and night. What happens the first time you think she _has_ to stay and she _has_ to go to class?"

Josh sighed. Ainsley had a point. "I'll get Sam to make sure I'm not being an ass."

"I love Sam," his eyebrows rose, "_as a friend_," he smirked, "but as good as he is, you're better." She narrowed her eyes. "And I _refuse_ to repeat that so don't ask." He gave a sheepish grin. "What I mean is that Sam is much more likely to accede to your demands. He has to. Besides being your friend, he's subordinate. You need someone from a different department to make sure you're toeing the line."

"Who?" he asked curiously, though he had an idea.

"Me. You know you don't scare me and I'm perfectly willing to hold my position if you get out of line and try to force her to stay when she doesn't need to."

Josh looked at Ainsley curiously. "You're being remarkably helpful for a Republican." She gave him a look and he smirked at her. "That was humor. But why are you so interested?"

She thought about it. "Because you all went out of your way to welcome me even if I was the enemy. Even if Sam was annoyed at being forced to work with a Republican, he didn't hesitate to defend me. And none of you hesitated to back him up. I like you – even if you _are_ the mouthpiece of the liberal machine." She smirked right back at his mock outrage. "Anyway. I like Donna and I'd like to see her succeed."

He gave his most dimpled smile. "Okay then. When do you think I should talk to her?"

Ainsley considered that. "When will you be done for the day?"

He sighed. "Late."

Ainsley considered that. "You should set up a time where she and you can talk for a while. When you think you have a time, call me. I'll see what I can do to make it into my schedule. I'm willing to work outside of my regular time on this."

"Thanks. And I'm sure she'll say it too when she finds out."

She smiled. "Until then." She got up and walked out. As she walked past Donna she paused. "How are you doing these days? We haven't really talked since the whole Cliff fiasco." She paused. "And I should have apologized – I didn't mean to complicate your life when I suggested him."

"That's okay." Donna was fighting a blush. "I'm doing alright. A bit busy for dating right now, but I'm doing alright."

"Glad to hear that. We should get together sometime," Ainsley said with a friendly smile.

"I'd like that."

"Give me a call."

"I will. See you."

Ainsley nodded and walked back to her office.

* * *

Josh sat at his desk, reviewing the large number of varied courses that Donnatella Lynn Moss had completed at the University of Wisconsin. He sighed. The trouble was that the number and scope of 300 courses was limited and the 400 courses nonexistent. She was full up on 100 and 200 courses.

He sighed. Part of the difficulty was that he didn't know the requirements at Georgetown. Georgetown was where he would suggest Donna go because, A) It was 7 minutes away from the White House, and B) It had some flexibility as far as government workers also working on degrees. At least he hoped so. He'd have to check.

Josh decided he would have to go over to Georgetown and ask about admissions policies and government workers. If that didn't pan out, he'd talk to Charlie and see where he was going.

He knew that it was possible she wouldn't be accepted until the second term – most universities required admission months in advance. And then he'd have to make sure that the money aspect was taken care of. Scholarships, student loans … he'd have to make sure that it got sorted out in such a way that she wouldn't be discouraged.

If necessary, he'd pull every string he could legally pull to make it as inexpensive and easy as possible.

In fact, he was going to talk to the President about what it would take to get a recommendation from him. He was against nepotism, but the President knew Donna and how valuable she was. He didn't think it would be hard to get him to sign a letter of recommendation.

He'd ask Sam to draft one for the President to sign.

Josh also was on friendly terms with a number of Congressmen and Senators. He was even on good terms with a few Republicans. Letters of recommendation and/or support would be possible.

He also started making notes on reports and proposals that Donna helped research and put together. These could be used, possibly, for credit against experience requirements.

Suddenly he was interrupted. "Josh. One hour – Leo need the report. And I've got to get it at least fifteen minutes ahead of time to type it. So whatever you're doing, put it aside."

Josh looked at Donna, who was looking at him with some asperity. "Okay." He put his notes in a folder and opened up the binders that he needed to review.

She looked at the folder curiously for a moment and then went back to her desk.

When she stepped out to the copier, he hid the file on the bottom of his drawer, the one that she didn't have to go in regularly – he didn't want her normal snooping to uncover it. He put things back the way they were, closed the drawer and went back to his binders.

* * *

It was later that week and Josh and Donna were going to have a slow time for a couple of hours. He gave Ainsley a call. "You have time this afternoon?" he asked her.

"For the Donna thing?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Sure. When?"

He looked up at his board. "I've got some time around 3:00."

"3:00?" There was a pause. "I can work you in. Half an hour good enough?"

"Well, I'll only need to be there for a few minutes. And then you keep her and talk about what she'll need to do."

"Okay. That works."

"See you at 3:00."

"See you then."

He got up and went to his door. "Donna?" he called to get her attention.

"Josh?" she said as she looked over.

"We've got a meeting at 3:00. Half an hour."

"Meeting?" she asked, confusion in her tone. "About what?"

He smiled and said, "You'll see. It's good. But we need half an hour. We need to go 5 minutes before that. So make sure everything's set."

"Alright?" she said. Her confusion didn't abate as she worked on her paperwork.

He shook his head and went back to what he needed to finish right then.

* * *

At 2:50, he noted the time. He called out, "5 minutes!"

"5 minutes," was the slightly petulant answer. She really didn't like not knowing, but he was keeping it close to the vest.

At 2:54, he stood up. "Okay." He grabbed the file from his drawer and walked out. "Let's go," he said to Donna.

She looked at him, a slight petulance which she masked. She really hated being left out of the loop. She stood up, motioning to another staffer to keep an eye out. The other staffer nodded back.

"So. Where are we going?" she asked.

"We're going to see Ainsley," he said with some cheer.

"Why? Am I in trouble or something?"

"No."

"Are you in trouble?" she asked.

"No."

She paused to consider that. "Is it some major difficulty with some bill?"

"No."

She huffed as she looked at him. "You look entirely too happy with yourself."

He grinned. "I am."

She resigned herself and was happier for it. "Fine."

"You'll find out when we get there."

They arrived nearly exactly on time at Ainsley's door, which was open. They paused and Josh tapped on the open door. She looked up. "Josh. Donna. Come on in," she said with a smile as she put aside the file she had been reviewing.

They sat down and Donna asked, "What's this about?"

Ainsley smiled at her and then said to Josh, "It's your show."

Josh rolled his eyes at Ainsley but looked at Donna. "Okay. Remember last week? The offer you got from that dot com?"

"Yes. You were making fun of it and trying to convince me I shouldn't take it. I didn't take it – even though I would me making a _lot_ more money."

"Right," he replied. "I have some idea of what that kind of job would have paid. And I can't say you don't deserve that kind of salary. Which you'd never make in government work."

She smiled. "I know. Only the President makes more than I was offered and that's only because they just doubled his salary. It's a good thing for you that I like my job."

He smiled at her. "Yeah it is. But I started thinking: You really should also be ready for whatever might be in your future. And I realize that you put a lot on hold to work here. I'd like to make certain you'd in good shape for the future. So I'd like to work out how you could do your job and finish a degree at the same time."

Donna looked at Josh with some incredulity. This was _nothing close_ to what she had thought it might be.


	2. Canadian in the West Wing

Roughly S03E16 Dead Irish Writers (Some dialogue taken from that episode)

Ainsley Hayes was sitting with Donna Moss as Donna filled out the tedious application form for Georgetown University.

Ainsley was mostly working on her own files but on occasion advised or prodded her as needed.

Donna groaned at one point. Ainsley looked up at her. "What?"

"Information on my parents and their income. As if that matters – I've been an adult for years. What does it matter what my parents do or what they make?"

"Let me see it."

Donna picked up the form and handed it over. Ainsley quickly reviewed it. "Well. Considering that you are likely going to be needed financial aide – loans, grants, etc. etc. – this kind of thing is normal. Worst case, you get you parents to sign the form saying that you're effectively financially on you own." Ainsley looked at her and said, "What's the problem?"

Donna wanted to deny it but sighed. "My parents are kind of upset. I haven't been home and they were kind of disappointed in me for some of the choices I made. The fact I gave up my life to go work on a campaign and then the whole thing where I didn't come and visit because of the whole MS scandal wasn't resolved. I don't know how willing they're going to be to help out."

"Do you talk to them?" Ainsley asked with some concern.

"I do. Sometimes. Not enough probably. But they're kind of conservative. They lean right and they were unhappy with the whole MS thing."

"Your parents are Republicans?" Ainsley's tone showed some surprise.

Donna smiled sheepishly. "Not registered. They sometimes vote one way, sometimes another. But they do have close friends who are Republican."

Ainsley looked at Donna thoughtfully. "Would they be offended if I called them? I'm in the White House Counsel's office and a Republican. I will say that I'm working on some information for certain required files. I can schmooze with the best of them."

Donna considered that and then brightened up. "Okay. Why don't I call them, tell them you're going to call?"

"You okay doing that?" Ainsley asked.

"Sure. We do talk. But asking for personal information might be upsetting if I was the one asking. We don't talk about some things. I think they would be more open to talking to someone who's acting like my lawyer."

Ainsley chuckled. "I _am_ you lawyer. Well, the White House's lawyer. But close enough at least for this."

"Okay."

Donna motioned toward the phone and Ainsley nodded. Donna had to go through the normal family greetings but finally told them they'd be called. Ainsley listened. "Okay." She looked at her watch. "Well, I have to go back to my desk right now. But Ainsley is here and you can set up a time." Pause. "Okay. All my love to Dad and everyone." Pause. "Alright. Here's the lawyer. Her name is Ainsley Hayes." Pause. "Yes. That one. That's right. She's the one who ripped the White House and now works here." Pause. "Okay. Well, here she is."

Donna handed her the phone. "It's my mother, Catherine Lynn Moss. Thanks for this. I gotta get back before Josh loses something and goes nuts."

Ainsley nodded. "Okay. I'll take care of this. I'll call later about when you can come back and finish." Donna nodded and quickly left.

Ainsley put the phone to her ear. "Hello, Mrs. Moss. I'm Ainsley. Thanks for talking to me."

The voice on the phone said, "_That's alright. We might not have enjoyed her missing Christmas for possible legal things, but we do want her to succeed. So is this about where she was born again?_"

"I'm sorry?" Ainsley was confused.

"_We got a call from White House Office of Personnel to verify where she was born. Something about the Canadian border having been clarified and they needed to verify where she was born_."

Ainsley was confused. She hadn't heard anything about that. "Well, I'm Associate White House Counsel. Can you explain what happened?"

* * *

It was the afternoon when Ainsley Hayes made her way to operations and the Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative Affair's Assistant. Donna looked up. "Ainsley!" Donna noticed she was slightly worn. "Oh my god! What happened?"

Ainsley smiled at her. She probably looked as tired as she felt. "Well, I've been running around all day on something on your college application. But I did get the information I needed." She sat down at the chair next to Donna's desk. Donna grabbed a water bottle she had and a muffin that she had gotten earlier and set them in front of her.

Ainsley smiled gratefully. "_Thanks_." She took a large bite of the muffin. She drank some water and swallowed. "I actually rushed lunch because I've been dealing with several offices."

Donna was confused. "How does that have to do with my application?"

Ainsley looked at her and said, "Is Josh around? He's going to need to hear some of this."

"Sure." Donna quickly brought Josh back and he leaned against a nearby desk to listen.

"Well, I have good news, bad news, okay news, great news, and … okay. I have all kinds of news."

"Go ahead."

Ainsley sighed. "Bad news first. I'm sorry to tell you that, technically, you're not a US citizen."

Josh's voice was louder as both said, "What?"

Ainsley motioned for them to settle down. "Okay. They recently clarified the US border. You were born in a town in Minnesota. Warroad, right?"

"Yes. I was born there and we moved to Wisconsin when I was very young."

"Okay. They recently clarified the US/Canada border. Warroad, Minnesota doesn't exist. That's Warroad, Manitoba. You're Canadian."

Donna was confused. "How can that be? My birth certificate says Warroad, Minnesota, USA."

Ainsley smiled. "You missed by four miles."

"But aren't I a citizen because my parents are?"

Ainsley sighed. "I checked. Because legally you were born on foreign soil, they would have had to file a document before you were eighteen to make certain you were recognized as a US citizen."

Donna dropped her head in her hands. "What do I do now?"

"Don't worry. I was able to review the laws and found an out. INS has a literal grandfather clause. You complete a three part literacy test, a simple American history test. and complete one form, you're a citizen again. It's a good thing I caught this. I have a couple of things for you and Josh to sign and you won't be kicked from the building. You were already going to have trouble for the First Lady's birthday ball. Which I handled. You're taking your tests at 3:00 in the Mural room."

Donna's eyes widened. She jumped up and rushed around the desk to hug Ainsley where she was sitting. Ainsley laughed. "You're welcome."

Josh was impressed. "They're coming here to administer the test?"

Ainsley smirked at Josh. "This _is_ the White House. Actually it's being sent over electronically. Someone from the Secret Service will proctor it and send it back. The President invited you to his wife's party. No one wants to upset the President about something so trivial."

Josh nodded at her. "Thanks."

Donna asked curiously. "Are you going to the party?"

Ainsley sighed. "No. Well, I was asked but didn't have a date. You know how it is. Who wants to go to a ball alone?"

Josh was a little upset at that actually. "Don't you have Republican friends who would go with you?"

Ainsley laughed. "To the Democratic First Lady's birthday party? It's not a State dinner. It seemed … I don't know. I thought it would be impolite considering she's still dealing with the fallout from the hearings. She's still worrying about that and I didn't want to make her confront someone who might be against her in some way. And some of her guests might not like a Republican hanging around."

"Well, we'll miss you," Josh said earnestly.

"Thank you." Ainsley considered that Josh _could_ be sweet sometimes. She looked at Donna. "Anyway. Considering that involved the application as well, it's good it's getting handled. Now some good news. Your parents are no longer annoyed at the President, and no longer upset about you missing Christmas this year."

Donna's face broke into some joy. "Really?"

"Yes. I guess being able to talk from a Conservative Republican viewpoint helped. I'm me, and I support the President. I talked to them about the whole thing and why I still support him. I told them how I was hired. They think much more positively about the whole thing. And they were flummoxed by the fact that Josh was the one who started the whole process of you finishing you degree."

Josh grinned. "They liked that?"

"Oh, yes." Ainsley grinned at them and said to Josh, "You're no longer the egomaniacal political operative taking advantage of their sweet daughter, but now the thoughtful boss who is looking out for their little girl."

Josh raised his fists in the air. "Yes!" Donna rolled her eyes. "I'm glad I'm so cool."

Donna snarked, "Your going to have to bring your ego as your plus one tonight."

Josh said, "I'm just glad that more people recognize that I'm _da man_."

"Yeah. Right. Whatever. When am I getting a raise?"

Josh deflated at that. Donna smirked at Ainsley. "Okay. So I'll feel better about calling them."

Ainsley smiled at her. "They expect a call this weekend. And some good news: Your parents are incredible supportive."

Donna asked, "What do you mean?"

Ainsley gave a positively victorious smirk. "They've always hoped you'd go back to school. So much so that they set up a trust for your education, including possible living expenses. While you might have some small student loans to take out, depending on what classes you need to finish whatever degree you plan on finishing …"

Josh interrupted, "Political Science with a minor in Public Administration."

Ainsley and Donna both looked at him. Ainsley said, "Actually, that's a very good suggestion given her experience and possible job opportunities she might be eligible for when she's finished with this job."

Josh gave a dimpled grin. "I know."

Donna considered that. "I can see if I can get some credit for some of the things I've done here."

Josh volunteered, "I'll help with that, talk to them. Whatever you need."

Donna gave him the smile he loved so much. "Thanks, Josh."

Ainsley almost rolled her eyes. They were so blind. "Anyway. With the trust, and possibly with Josh's help, you might not even need loans. But nevertheless, it should be a lot easier than you might have thought."

Donna jumped up and then hugged Josh and, once Ainsley stood, hugged Ainsley. She was excited. Things were coming together.

Once Ainsley finished, she cheerfully went back to her office, reminding Donna about her appointment to take the tests.

Josh and Donna looked at her as she walked away. Donna said, "It really sucks that she can't come because she didn't want to make the First Lady uncomfortable."

Josh replied, "It does." He thought for a long moment. "Let me see what I can do."

* * *

Ainsley arrived back at 3:45 to the Mural room. Donna was waiting for the test to be graded. "How was it?" she asked Donna.

Donna phhted. "My god. Those were the easiest tests I've ever taken. I can't believe they were enough."

Ainsley smiled. "Well, you're kind of over-educated but those were the required tests." She looked over at the Secret Service agent. He finished and looked up. "How did she do?"

The agent said, "Everything looks great." He pulled the last paper. "Here's the form. Please fill it out."

Donna quickly looked it over and the rapidly filled it out. She showed it to Ainsley, who quickly reviewed it and nodded. Donna handed it back.

The Secret Service agent also looked it over. "Okay. We're all set. I'll inform the office. You shouldn't have any difficulty with entering the party tonight."

Donna said, "Thank you very much." Suddenly she noticed the agent stiffen. She turned around. "Mr. President!"

Jed Bartlet arrived with a smile. "Donnatella. What's this I hear about you being Canadian?"

She smiled and said, "They clarified the border and it turns out Warroad, where I was born, is in Manitoba. Missed US citizenship by four miles." Donna had come far since she had first arrived to the White House. Ainsley, watching, was much more nervous.

The President smiled. "You seem pretty calm about it."

"No. I'm very upset. I don't know the words to our national anthem. I've been throwing out Canadian pennies my whole life. I've been making fun of the Queen. We don't do that."

Jed Bartlet laughed. "Is it getting sorted out?"

She gave him a brilliant smiled. "Ainsley happened across it and took care of it before it became a problem and the Secret Service stopped me from coming to your wife's party. She's been great. I just finished the tests and forms."

The President looked over to Ainsley. "Miss Hayes! Thank you. I'm so glad that you were on the ball and handled it so quickly. That makes me happy and will make my wife happy."

"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir." Ainsley's nervousness came through.

"Now. What's this I hear about you missing the party? All the women of the West Wing were invited."

"Well, Mr. President. As I explained to Josh. I didn't want to come alone and didn't want to make your wife deal with …."

The President waved her off. "I heard. That was incredible sensitive and thoughtful. But I have a solution." He raised his voice. "SAM!"

Sam Seaborn came in, having waited for the call. "I'm here, Mr. President."

"Ms. Hayes doesn't have an acceptable escort for tonight. Do you think that you could make certain she comes and has a good time?"

"I'd be delighted to, Mr. President." He looked at Ainsley. "You still have that dress you came back to the White House with when the whole UN thing was happening right?"

Ainsley was bugeyed. "Well. I do have that dress. And others. I could go home and change. But I haven't had time to get my nails or hair done." She was prattling nervously.

The President said, "Donna? Maybe your boss can let you go early and you can help Ainsley here with all those things that you girls do in time for tonight?"

Donna smiled. "I'll tell Josh and then she and I can go make certain we're both ready."

"Good." He turned to Ainsley. "I hope to see you there."

"Thank you, Mr. President." Ainsley was shocked, and it was obvious. The President just smiled. "I'll see you all tonight." He quickly left.

Ainsley looked at Donna and Sam. "What in the hell just happened?"

Sam grinned. "That's the President. He doesn't like his people being excluded and you're one of his people. I'll meet you at your office at 7:45."

Ainsley blinked. "Alright then. I need to go tell my boss I'm being sent off. I'll meet you at your desk, Donna." She quickly rushed off.

* * *

Later than night, Ainsley and Donna got roped into a boozing session with the First Lady, CJ Craig, and Amy Gardner. Sam was off dealing with some Senator and some visitor, and Josh was in and out.

Abbey looked at Ainsley as the wine was poured. "I hear you did an excellent job with helping our Canadian today."

Amy was curious. "Canadian?"

Abbey smiled. "Donna here." She looked at Donna. "What was all of it about?" Donna explained.

Amy looked at her. "Canadian, huh? Do you feel funnier?"

Donna said, "I don't know. I _am_ developing a massive inferiority complex."

The wine was drunk and the conversation flowed. Ainsley put in a few comments but mostly watched. This was … different.

Finally the First Lady's issues came up. "Mrs. Bartlet, I wanted to ask you a question but I don't know how."

"What?"

"Well if the most they can give you is a year suspension, is it …"

"That big of a deal?" Abbey finished. Ainsley was shocked and made herself very still as the first lady replied, "Yes." She noticed Donna was also being quiet and watching and listening. She was very observant, Ainsley decided.

"Why?"

"I'm a _doctor_. It's not like changing your major. You of all people … I mean, women talk about their husbands overshadowing their career. Mine got _eaten_."

CJ interjected. "Your husband got eaten?"

"My career?" Abbey replied, looking at CJ as though she was slow.

"Well, I'm on dangling modifier patrol," CJ said casually as she poured herself more wine.

The First Lady asked, "What's your problem?"

CJ asked pointedly. "Are you First Lady right now?"

"What are you talking about?" Abbey asked.

"Sometimes you like to talk and that's great. But sometimes you're Abbey, and sometimes you're by boss and I respect both very much …"

"I'm Abbey."

"Yes. I agree with _her_." She pointed to Amy. "They take this job away from me, I've got nothing. I don't have a _cat_. I could get one, but I don't have one." She paused. "Frankly I'm not wild about cats. I don't hate them, I'm just…" She paused thoughtfully. After a long pause she continued, "I could learn to like them I suppose …"

Ainsley was actually amused, though she hid it. CJ Craig was a bit tipsey.

Abbey interrupted. "CJ?"

CJ made her point. "You've got a husband, and children, and home, and a life. We're talking about _one year_ of not having a medical license." Ainsley could see that she wasn't getting through.

"Jed got censured and that came with no tangible penalty and it was a banner headline that he's having a slow nervous breakdown."

"That's different," CJ said.

"Why?"

"Cause it is and you know it." Ainsley could never had talked to the First Lady so casually. CJ Craig had a lot of … something.

"Okay. I'm First Lady again," Abbey said with outrage.

CJ casually replied, "Okay."

Amy volunteered. "You are First Lady, Abbey." Amy listed her accomplishments as First Lady, and Ainsley was actually impressed with the list.

The First Lady said, "That's not the point."

"What's the point?" Amy asked.

"I'm a _doctor_."

Ainsley's eyebrows almost hit her hair when Donna finally interjected, "Oh, Mrs. Bartlet. For crying out loud, you were also a doctor when your husband said, 'Give me the drugs and don't tell anyone,' and you said, 'Okay'."

Ainsley was actually in awe. She could see that something in what Donna had said finally got through. She was actually floored. And although the talk ended awkwardly, Ainsley was incredibly impressed, despite Donna being apologetic.

Later, when Abbey Bartlet got the orchestra to play, "Oh, Canada" as a salute to Donna, she watched with some satisfaction. She would have to tell her boss: Someone got through to Abbey Bartlet and the issue was soon going to be able to be put to bed. She was quite happy about that.

And when Sam finally came back, Ainsley got to dance several times, and she made sure Donna also danced too. Before she left she said quietly to Josh, "If anyone every questions Donna's value to this White House, send them to me, and I'll set them straight." Josh was confused – she would have to explain later.

It had actually been a very productive evening, Ainsley decided, as Sam Seaborn escorted her to her car.


	3. Donna Needs a Favor

A/N: For the one reviewer who commented about a filler chapter: I'm kind of following the West Wing story progression with my changes. I skipped an episode already because it would have been pointless to the story. I'm mostly trying to maintain the timeline, but there might be/will be changes.

Pre-S03E17

Donna Moss glanced at the door to Josh's office even as she scheduled two more meetings that involved her boss.

She had a thing later, and she was going to need Josh's help. He had been absolutely supportive about making sure she was not stuck in a rut and locked into a limited number of possible jobs – not that she had any intention of moving from the one she had – but he was also somewhat territorial.

And she didn't think her car would make it.

Normally, she took the Metro. On occasion, she would drive her car – as long as she was moving to and from work during quiet times. Her brakes were not … well, she was getting by with prayer and optimism. And things didn't look good when she had gotten in that morning.

Now she needed to drive over to Georgetown and see someone in admissions. It would take an hour, even if Georgetown was only a few minutes away. But she really didn't want to take her car and she was cash-short to take cabs.

Ainsley wasn't available. Despite her acting as an outside force to ensure that Donna got what she needed, Ainsley was scheduled to leave for vacation and she had been working extra hard to finish what needed to be finished.

Which meant that Ainsley couldn't drive her over.

Finally, it got to be lunchtime and Donna went to Josh's door.

Josh looked up from the briefing book she had delivered earlier. "Josh?"

He looked up. "Donna?"

"I need a favor." She put the slightly cute look she sometimes used when wheedling Josh – it didn't work all the time, but it usually made sure he didn't get annoyed.

Josh looked at Donna suspiciously. "What kind of favor?" he asked.

She sighed. "You remember I have that meeting at Georgetown?"

"Hence me attempting to finish this before 1:00. Which you're now interrupting," he said giving her his cocky smile.

"Right. I'm glad to see you're making the effort. But this is something else."

"Something else?"

"Yes. I might have a small issue which my powerful and wise boss can help me with."

He looked at her with amusement. "Okay. Stop buttering me up and spit it out."

She sighed. "My car's brakes are a little … well, I'm a little worried about trying to brave daytime traffic."

"What's wrong with your brakes?" he asked with concern.

"Well, I'm a girl on a budget. And I won't be able to get them looked at until two weeks from now. I've been taking the Metro …."

"The Metro? You're taking the Metro late at night?" he asked incredulously.

She looked at him with some slight annoyance. "Yes. My slave driving boss tends to keep me until all hours and he refuses to give me a raise." She paused, realizing that wasn't politic to say at the juncture. "Only by necessity of course. He's an important, powerful, and busy man who needs my help."

He almost rolled his eyes. "Okay. What do you need?" he asked.

"Well, considering that your meetings are all here or by phone, I was hoping to borrow your Audi to go to this meeting. It will make sure I get back much more quickly and you won't be without your assistant unexpectedly." She gave him her most friendly and hopeful look – which he had no power to deny. She hoped.

Josh looked at his assistant and sighed. "Okay. I suppose you can borrow my car." He paused and asked archly, "Can you stop and pick up some coffee on the way back?"

She looked at him with that annoyed look. "Josh? You can help me to get back quicker by loaning me your car or do without my help for possibly an extra hour, depending on circumstances. Neither of those choices involves my delivering coffee."

He was about to make a smart ass remark but decided against it. Donna was looking slightly frayed, which meant she really was feeling uncomfortable about asking. And he really was trying to stop taking advantage of her, as much as he could. The late nights were kind of impossible to avoid. He sighed. "Okay. You can borrow my car. Leave your keys so I know you're not taking advantage of my generosity and making extra stops to drop off things at home." He gave her his cockiest smirk.

She rolled her eyes. That was stupid. She wouldn't do that. Unless of course it might make things easier in the long run. But it wasn't really a big deal. "Fine." She grabbed her keys from her purse and set them on his desk and accepted his car key. She grinned at him happily, which made him smile in response.

"Okay then. Let me finish this because I have to take care of it before my assistant abandons me this afternoon," he said lightly.

"Right," she said with amused annoyance. She went back to finish what she needed to before leaving for her meeting.

* * *

Josh actually finished well ahead of time – he was an educated man and could read quickly when motivated. He made his notes and went out to Donna's cubicle. "Okay. Here's the briefing book and what needs to be done and who we need to talk to. I'll need to talk to Jillonson and Sparks about the bill and getting it financed. Set up the appointments for Friday – I'll go to them on the hill – and then you can go a few minutes early to eat before your thing."

Donna looked at Josh with surprise. "You're giving me extra time?"

He gave his half smirk. "It _is_ lunchtime."

"But I was working through lunch to get the time for the meeting," she said with some incredulity. Josh was supportive of the whole finishing school thing but that didn't mean he wasn't, well, Josh, which meant he was pretty possessive of her time during work.

But, he casually waved her question off. "I'm feeling generous. Maybe if I'm nice enough, I can convince my assistant to bring me coffee."

She gave her own half smirk. "It's always nice to have fantasies, no matter how unrealistic."

He flashed her a grin. Most people didn't understand them, but Donna and he got along fine. "Okay. Whatever. Set up the meetings and get out of here, before I change my mind."

She nodded and quickly pulled his notes. Even as he turned she murmured a sincere, "Thanks."

He flashed her another quick smile, the one that most people didn't get to see. He really was very nice to her and she knew that most people didn't see the nice Josh that she got to experience. Despite being a demanding and overbearing boss at times, he was also supportive and considerate, despite the façade he maintained of being a jerk. She enjoyed that he let her see that side that most people missed.

Once Josh was certain that Donna was out of the office, he picked up his cell phone. "I need to talk to Bill."

* * *

It was close to 10:00 that night when Donna finally got out the office. From the moment she had gotten back from meeting the Admissions office, Josh had her running around like a crazy person on different things. He had paid for dinner, but other than that he had been at a particularly high level of Joshness. Which was exasperating.

One positive thing that did come out of it was that they were actually slightly ahead on the schedule and she might actually not need to come in that weekend.

She had finally gotten her car keys back – Josh had been holding them hostage. In response, she had held his key hostage. Which he was fine with. But finally, after he had come back from talking to Leo at one point, he had stopped at her desk and pulled her keys from his pocket and set them down, keeping his hand on them and giving her an arch look.

She tried to look innocent for a moment, before she grinned and set his key right next to hers. He grinned as they made the exchange without words and then he went back to the next thing he had to finish.

When she got to the parking lot, she immediately noted something strange: Her car was one spot over from where she normally parked.

While she wasn't high enough to get a set spot, the senior assistants did have a particular row of spaces. And while she normally parked wherever there was space in that row, her car had moved. She was certain.

She narrowed her eyes as she looked at her car. Something was off. But she didn't know what it was. Finally, her tiredness forced her to attempt to ignore that and she quickly got in.

After setting her purse down and putting her key in, she buckled her seat belt and then reached to turn on the car.

It started right up.

Now she _knew_ something was strange. It wasn't uncommon for it to take a few extra cranks for it to start. It had been a couple of months since it had just started right up.

And, now that it was running, she noticed two other things: Her gas gauge showed that her tank was full, and the check engine light was no longer lit.

"What did you do?" she asked out loud as she contemplated Josh's actions that day.

He had been slightly weird about keeping her keys, but she had assumed he was just acting an ass. But then she realized that he had her keys in his _pocket_ when they had finally exchanged keys – and she was pretty certain that he hadn't had them there a couple hours earlier.

Knowing that Josh had already left as well, she wasn't about to go back in to interrogate him. She'd have to call him from home.

A few moments later, she sighed again. "_Josh_." She quickly tried to hold back the tears. Because when she had cautiously depressed the brake fifteen feet earlier than most people needed to (she had been being cautious), the brakes made no sound and the car stopped quickly.

There was nothing wrong with her brakes. She glanced up and then saw something else on her front window: There was now a service tag showing that she needed to get her next oil change in three months.

She hadn't had an oil change in a quite a while. She made sure that there was oil and that the car was basically okay, but she hadn't spent the money to get an actual oil change.

Her car also was almost purring compared to how it normally ran.

Finally, she got her tears under control and then drove out of the parking garage.

* * *

Josh Lyman was sitting on his couch watching ESPN (he wanted to see how the Mets were doing) when suddenly his doorbell rang. That was a surprise. He had been expecting a phone call, possibly an irate phone call, but he hadn't been expecting a visit.

He muted the television and went to his door. Peering through the peephole, he saw that it was who he had guessed it might be. He opened the door. "Donna. This is a surprise."

"_What did you do_?" she asked with some intensity.

He sighed and gave her a small smile. "You want to come in?"

She paused, considered it, and then nodded. He stepped back, allowing her inside. She had been here often, especially after he had been shot. He moved to sit on a stool. "What's up?" he asked with an innocent tone.

She looked at him. "Josh? Did you do something to my car?"

He looked at her with confusion. "Me? I was in the office all day. What could I have done to your car? Is it okay?"

She sighed. "It's great. Which was a surprise. What did you _do_?" she asked again.

He put on his innocent confused look. "Do I look like a mechanic?"

She was about to answer when she finally got the light bulb moment. "Okay. What did you have your _mechanic_ do?"

He was about to deny it again, when his face broke. He grinned a small grin. "Okay. You caught me." She looked at him for more information. "I figured that with you going to school and needed to get back and forth to the office, it might be good if your car was in decent shape. So I had Bill, the guy who does my work, take the car and make sure it was properly maintained."

She looked at him and asked, "How much do I owe?"

He looked at her with some slight confusion. "Um. Nothing?"

She sighed, losing her intensity. "How much did it cost for me to pay back? And what did he do?"

"I took care of it." He saw she was about to protest and he interrupted. "No. You went out of your way when I was shot. And you go out of your way all the time. I figured I owed you." He overrode her new attempt to protest "I took care of it, and nothing else needs to be said. You needed tires, brake pads – Bill said if you had waited you'd have needed rotors – an oil change, and a tune up. There was also a bad oxygen sensor which was what the engine light was all about. That was taken care of too. You should be good until your next oil change. Which will not be in a year. I really prefer if my assistant doesn't get stuck broken down. And so I just felt much more comfortable taking care of it."

She tried to think about how to answer all of that. But finally she stopped herself from breaking down but throwing herself at him and giving him a big hug.

Josh privately mused that it was worth the nine hundred dollars if he got this kind of hug out of it. "It's fine. I was happy to do it." He pulled back a bit and said with a cocky grin, "And now I'll feel less guilty about keeping you late."

She barked a short laugh and hit him on the arm. "As if you ever felt guilty before."

He considered that while loosely holding her. "True," he admitted.

She laughed again and then hugged him again before stepping back. "Thanks. It will make it much easier to get back and forth and I'll be less likely to miss work or school. You really can be sweet sometimes." He gave a slight blush and then gasped in mock outrage when she finished: "So really it was all for you anyway."

She giggled at his look. She then became more serious. "But really: Thanks. You didn't have to do that."

He gave her a soft smile. "I was happy to do it. We good?"

She gave a brilliant smile. "We're good."

He asked her, "You want something to drink before you go home? I'm watching Sports Center, you can watch it with me."

She chuckled lightly, "No. Thanks. But I do need to go home – my slave driving boss would be upset if I was late because a friend kept me up. But I did want to come over and say thank you personally." She leaned toward him and, to his shock, kissed him gently on the cheek. "I'll see you in the morning."

He was almost too stunned to answer but he did. "In the morning."

She went to the door, opened it and walked forward. She did stop halfway and turn back. "But don't think that this will get me to bring you coffee." He laughed at her wicked smile and he watched her in amusement as she walked back to her car. He waved as she drove off and then he went back to watching his show.


	4. Lemonlymon and the Poet Laureate

A/N:

S03E17

Donna Moss listened to her boss with a long-suffering expression as he tried to explain why he wanted her assistance to respond to the comment on lemonlymon dot com.

When he finally said, "Sit down," to get her to start typing, she finally put her put down.

"Are you trying to make me fail my class?" she asked him with an almost resigned tone.

Looking confused he said, "Huh?"

She smirked at him. "Josh? You're a world class political mind, a bit elitist, but overall – a good man. But you have absolutely no understanding of," she motioned toward the computer which had the site up, "the kind of crazy that it takes to post on a site like this. Now. Through the work that you and Ainsley have done, Georgetown has been generous in allowing me to receive credit for many of the things that I do around here already. But if any Professor knew that I allowed you to post to _that_ platform, they might change their mind." She became a bit more serious. "And I really want to get my degree without having to attend classes to learn things that I already learned listening to and working for you."

He tried to protest. "But Donna. These are the people. What can be wrong with helping them to explain what I meant and making sure they understand the true working of government?"

She rolled her eyes. "Stay right here." She turned around walked out, her irritated (and still confused) superior watching as she did so. In the interest of finding more people he could help, he sat down to attempt to find more of his fans that he could respond to.

About ten minutes later he was interrupted. "Okay," he heard Donna's voice. Josh looked over and saw Donna at his door with CJ and Sam standing behind her. She turned to CJ. "Do me a favor and explain to Josh exactly why I should ignore his request that I help him respond to what he is looking at right now." She turned back and said to Josh, "And I would have gotten Toby too, but he's been put on fixing something for CJ – I had to approve his choice of ties for some reason – and I think he would start plotting if that was interrupted for … this." She turned, motioned the two inside, and then closed the door behind them.

She returned to what she had actually been working on and ignored the raised voices behind the closed door. When a passing clerk looked over she waved them off, "Just a minor educational session, nothing to see." She was attempting to hide a grin as she said it, which convinced the woman that she didn't want to know.

A couple of minutes later the door opened and CJ walked out with a viciously satisfied smirk followed by Sam, whose expressions said, "I really wish I hadn't been there for that." As Sam walked back to his area, he paused at her desk. "You _sicced_ CJ on him?"

Donna gave a single nod. "Yep."

"Isn't that kind of like using a Howitzer to kill a fly?" Sam asked.

As Sam was talking, Josh walked out of his office, his face a mixture of contrition and annoyance. "Well, I wouldn't call it a Howitzer for a fly." She looked past Sam to Josh, which caused Sam to notice that Josh had followed them out and then Donna finished her reply to Sam. "It's more like a flu vaccination: Yes, it might not be necessary, but better safe than sorry, right?"

Sam glanced at Josh and decided that he really didn't want to be involved anymore. "Well. Okay then. Back to my own Crisis of Communication." Sam deliberately turned and marched back to his own area.

"He's really been catching it on the Ritchie comment, hasn't he?" she asked Josh conversationally.

Josh paused and considered that. "Yeah. Which is really funny because he wasn't even there."

She shrugged at him and then asked, "All sorted out on the lemonlyman dot com?" she asked with an arch tone.

Josh sighed. He wanted to be upset, but CJ had been almost pleasant compared to what she would have been if he had actually been allowed to post. CJ was very clear on how much trouble Donna had just saved him, and Sam had backed her up. "Well, a deeper study of some of the users has led me to believe that they care less about understanding and more about just getting attention."

She gave him a small satisfied, smile. "CJ got through to you."

Josh nodded. "Yes."

"Good." She looked at him and stood up. "And just to prove I'm still on your side, let's take a break and go buy some good coffee. I'll pay for yours."

Josh looked at her and said, "You could just bring me some back."

She chuckled as she gathered her purse. "I'm not _that_ sorry for bringing in Sam and CJ on that."

He smirked at her and the two went off. It was a busy week and they would be working late.

* * *

Donna had stopped in Communications to drop off a response on some research Toby had asked for when she saw an unexpected person. "Ainsley?"

Ainsley paused in her implacable walk, "Hello, Donna."

" I thought you were on vacation," Donna commented in a friendly manner.

"I was. Until I was called back urgently by Bonnie at Sam's behest." Donna saw that Ainsley was quite annoyed.

She gave her friend and current college monitor a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry to hear about that." She paused at Ainsley's very annoyed look. "Remember the night of the First Lady's party?" Ainsley nodded. "I think she had a name for people who truly annoy members of the sisterhood. You remember what that was?"

Ainsley actually let her annoyance drop as she concentrated. Her face then went incredulous. "_No_."

Donna shrugged and smirked in reply. "He should be reminded how not to treat the sisterhood."

Ainsley actually smirked in response. "I'll make sure to explain it to him."

Donna grinned. "You do that. Good luck."

Ainsley gathered herself and went to Sam's door.

Sam Seaborn was at his desk when someone knocked on his door. "Come in," he called. Glancing up, he saw that it was Ainsley Hayes. She looked at him with a very annoyed look though it sowed some amusement.

"I'm channeling the First Lady at her most annoyed with her husband when I say this: What the hell, Jackass?"

Sam was torn between complete astonishment and a terrible amusement.

* * *

Donna, on yet another annoying errand required by her annoying boss, walked through the White House toward the front door. She had to go to the OEOB. This was the penalty she was paying for siccing CJ on her boss.

She could live with it. Her diligence had paid off. CJ had one of her staff create an anonymous user to say what Josh had wanted to say. It was worded, "I believe that what Josh was saying was ….:" The tremendously insane number of neurotic responses to the comment demonstrated quite handily exactly why wading into that morass would have been quite stupid.

But Josh was still pouting about it. So Donna was performing grunt work that she would normally have staffed out to others because Josh insisted that only she knew exactly what was needed and so she had to go get it herself.

She mused that Josh would have to be made to pay. But that was for the future when he wasn't expecting it.

Toby appeared from a side hall, also moving toward the exit. "Hello, Donna," he said in his half gruff tone that he used when he was being friendly but didn't want people to realize it.

"Hello, Toby. I haven't seen you much around. What's going on?" she asked him casually.

He sighed. "I'm going sightseeing."

"Sightseeing?"

Toby explained what was happening with the US Poet Laureate. Donna was quite interested in hearing about it. Finally Donna asked a question. "Do you remember the filibuster? Senator Stackhouse's filibuster in the Senate?"

Toby nodded. "That was quite a night."

"Right. But you remember what it was all about," Donna replied.

"Yes."

Donna nodded in acknowledgement of his answer. "Josh made the same mistake you're making now: You're fighting the fight without really getting at why she thinks it's worth fighting for. Is she the kind of person who gets into causes? Is she really an activist type of personality?"

Toby actually was struck into stillness. "She has _no_ history of activism."

Donna gave a satisfied look at that. "So maybe instead of concentrating on _what_ she is so focused on, you should figure out _why_ she is so focused."

She recognized the look on Toby's face: When he realized he had stopped seeing the forest because he was trying to find it through the trees. It usually was followed by him finally resolving his trouble. So that was okay. Toby finally stopped looking off and turned his head toward Donna. "Thanks."

She gave him her happy smile. "You're welcome. Have a good time."

"I will." Donna turned and moved toward the OEOB. Tony watched her walk away. And then with renewed resolve, he went out to spend time with the beautiful poet.

* * *

Toby watched as Tabitha stopped to make marks on a piece of paper. "What are you doing?" he asked casually.

"Crossing off the FDR Memorial, the Atrium, and the Folger Library," she answered. "I like crossing off lists. It's _very_ satisfying." Her voice showed it. She put her papers away as she asked, "You like making lists?"

"Yes."

"You like crossing things off?"

Toby was amused. "I'll let you know if that happens."

Tabitha asked, "Hey. How'd you know what hotel I was at?"

Toby said, "We have you watched when you're in DC."

Tabitha looked over to see if he was serious. "Are you serious?" she asked.

"No."

She replied, "Good."

Even as she was relaxing he said, "We always have you watched." His tone made it hard to see if he was joking – which he was. She glanced over to see the small smile. She finally got it. "So. You know what I think might be fun?"

Tabitha's annoyance came through for just a moment. "If I came to the White House dinner and shut the hell up?"

"That's not what I was going to say," he said with a light tone.

She asked him in the same tone, "What were you going to say?"

He said, in still the same tone, "If you came to the White House dinner, wore a beautiful dress, and shut the hell up." He looked over as she chuckled a bit darkly.

He listened as she made her argument. He watched from the edge of his eyesight and mused that Donna's point was well made. She wanted to say something about this to the President. But it wasn't a platform. She really felt about this.

Instead of reinforcing what he was supposed to say he looked over to the side. "See that bench?" There was a bench under the shade of a tree. She nodded. "Let's go sit down for a minute."

Tabith Fortis considered that, but acquiesced. They walked over a sat down, looking around at all the other people enjoying the sunny day in the DC park. "I have a question for you," Toby started.

"Okay?" she replied.

"You seem to know a lot about this. From what I know, you don't have family who've run into landmines. Your father wasn't a Korean vet. But you've done your homework. Which means you feel strongly about this subject."

She considered that and said, "I do."

"Why?" he asked gently.

She tried to deflect. "I get a chance to talk to someone who maybe could do something about it. Reciting 64 couplets on the American experience would be _treasonous_."

He wasn't buying it. "But _why_ is it so important? What happened?" His tone remained gentle.

It took some coaxing, but finally she talked about what she had seen in Korea, when the son of the fisherman who had taken her out had died by accidentally setting off a landmine disguised in some floating debris.

He gave her time to gather herself. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. When it went through he said to the operator, "This is Toby Ziegler. Can you get me Charlie Young?" Tabitha watched him curiously. "Charlie. This is Toby." "Yeah, I know it's strange. I have a question. I've got the US Poet Laureate who could use a few minutes in private with the President." "No. Nothing political. She's wants to make a case. He might not be able to do anything for her. But it would be good for her if she could actually make her argument." "Because he's a good man and knows how to listen." "Okay." "Mr. President." "The dinner for the US Poet Laureate? She wanted to voice her opinion on landmines there." "Yes. I know. But I found out why it was important to her and I think it's the kind of thing you'd listen to." "I do." "Okay. I'll explain." "Let me ask."

He looked over at Tabitha. "What are you doing tonight?"

"I've got to meet some people to prepare for my reading at Georgetown tomorrow night."

"She's got a meeting to set up for her poetry reading tomorrow night at Georgetown's art department," Toby said into the phone. "Okay." He looked back at Tabitha. "When are you done?"

"8:30."

"8:30." "Okay. I'll set it up. Thank you, Mr. President." Toby hung up the phone. "Okay. When your meeting is done, I'll be taking you over in a car driven by the Secret Service to the White House – they'll have to make sure it's safe of course. You're going to have about half an hour in the Oval to give your story. And then you're going to come to the dinner in a nice dress and shut the hell up." He said the last with a gentle smile.

She looked at him in shock. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you're a good person who's seen a horrible thing; and President Bartlet is a good man, who cares about people," Toby replied very matter-of-factly.

She still was in shock. "What did he ask you?"

Toby replied, "He asked me if I thought that it was important for you to be able to explain. I told him that I did think it was important. And so he's going to listen. If you showed up to a State dinner in your honor, and talked about it, people would ignore the issue and just talk about the break in protocol. No one would care about the actual issue. But this way, you get to make your case, the dinner happens, and you get to recite your 64 couplets on the American Experience."

Tabitha looked at Toby for a long moment and then leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He stood up and she followed. "What's on your list? Let's see what I might be able to join you for. I got a bit of time right now."

* * *

When Toby got back to the White House about 5:00, he got the message that he was to see the President via Leo. He went there immediately.

Leo looked at him as he was sent into the Chief of Staff's office. "What the hell, Toby?"

"I know. But honestly? I thought it was the best way to handle this."

Leo looked disgusted. "We're concentrating on Energy policy, we've got the Republicans in Congress making noise about we're being mean to their guy, and you want to distract him with _this_?"

Toby shrugged. "Let me explain."

"Oh, you're _going_ to explain. But we're doing it in the Oval because I'd rather go through this as few times as possible." Leo stood up.

"Okay then."

"Margaret!" Leo bellowed.

Immediately she appeared at the door. "CJ is on her way. She'll be in the Oval in a minute."

"Okay then." Leo looked at Toby. "Come on."

Toby followed Leo to the door. He tapped on it, and then walked into the Oval.

Even as they entered from the Chief of Staff's door, CJ came in from the main entrance. The President looked at them all and said, "Okay. What's all this about?"

CJ gave her version and what she had sent Toby to do. CJ then turned to Toby and said, "I thought you were going to fix this."

Toby sighed. "Would you listen for a minute?"

The President interrupted. "Go ahead, Toby."

Toby sighed and said, "I was on my way out to meet, for the second time, the US Poet Laureate. I met with her yesterday to convince her to come to the party and not get into her issue. Her immediate reaction was, okay so I can't come to the party." That surprised the others.

CJ said, "You didn't tell me that."

"Because I was going to handle it. But as I'm walking out I run into Donna who is on her way to the OEOB. We got to talking and I explained what I was doing. She said something to me."

Leo was curious. "What did she say?"

Toby looked at Leo and said, "She reminded me of the Stackhouse filibuster. She said I was making the same mistake that Josh made. He was concentrating so much on the fight that we never took the time to find out why Stackhouse was fighting." Toby stopped and then started pacing. "I couldn't believe it. I've been in politics for years. I know that you've got to understand the motivation of the other person you're talking to. And I realized that she was right: CJ and I were concentrating so much on trying to make things smooth and quiet that we were ignoring what she was trying to tell us." Toby stopped pacing. "And when she once again started trying to make her case, I stopped her and asked her _why_ it was so important to her. And she told me."

The President was quite interested. "And why _is_ it so important to her?"

Toby sighed. "She was in Korea, out on a boat. She was with a fisherman and his son and they hooked some flotsam. And the son goes to dislodge it from their fishing gear and a landmine hidden in the debris blows up and kills him. Right in front of her and this kid's father. There was nothing that could be done for this kid _or_ his father right then. So she actually makes an effort to go learn about it. Sure. Her experience is what did it. But now she really needs to tell someone and she's picked you."

The President looked at him, as did Leo and CJ. "And you think it's a good idea for me to be the one to listen to her?"

Toby shrugged. "She's the US Poet Laureate. And she's been through a trauma. The poet laureate is supposed to concentrate on increasing the reading and writing of poetry. But this one's hurting so much she's having a problem concentrating on that one thing. She needs to talk to someone. She doesn't need to talk to the Commander-in-Chief. She needs to talk to the man who listens to his daughters and makes the monsters go away. You're a good man. A good father. I think that you're the type of man who would be willing to spend half an hour just to decrease the hurt in the world and provide a little comfort."

CJ actually had to fight back tears at that. Leo and the President looked at each other. "Okay then." The President, who had been leaning against his desk listening, stood up. "You know there might be nothing I can do to change things."

"I know that," Toby answered. "She knows that. But at least when you listen, the person talking to you knows you're listening."

"Then I look forward to meeting her."

"Thank you, Mr. President." Toby and CJ left through the main door. Leo and the President watched them.

Leo commented, "This poet seems to have lit a fire in Toby."

The President grinned a bit. "I noticed." He paused and said, "Don't you find it strange that it's Donna Moss again who's knocking my senior staff in the head to get them to stop and actually think rather than running into the same wall repeatedly?"

Leo's smirk widened. "No. She's a pretty smart and observant woman. If God forbid Margaret ever gets fed up with me and runs off, I'm gonna steal her from Josh to help keep this place from falling down around our ears."

The President laughed. "Wouldn't that put a burr in Josh's jockey shorts."

"You know it," Leo laughed back. Finally he said, "Thank you, Mr. President," and withdrew.


	5. The Senior Staff Comment

A/N: Longer A/N at end of chapter.

S03E18

Donna was at her desk. It was a Sunday, and she was reviewing policies that she had worked on.

Josh had been in meetings with DNC members the day before and spent much of his time from 6:00 Friday on the campaign and campaign issues. And this had meant that she hadn't had much time this weekend to work on the project needed to complete her papers for her requirements for different government classes.

At about 4:00, she was interrupted by Josh. He walked in to the operations bullpen and paused when he saw her. "What are you doing here?" he asked curiously.

She looked up from the files. "Hello, Josh. You're looking rather chipper, but a bit tired."

His smile showed she was right – he was a bit tired. "It was a late night."

She smirked. "Tired from all the _lovemaking_?" She teased Josh a lot about his personal life. As much as she had feelings for her boss, she knew that now was not the time to explore them.

Josh and Amy had fallen into a relationship – falling in sideways seemed to be Josh's thing. She also knew that it would never last: Amy and Josh were both power-dating and she hoped that when it all fell apart (as she knew it would) that she wouldn't have to clean up the mess.

Josh protested. "It wasn't from the lovemaking. I had those meetings with a few members of Congress and DNC contributors, as you well know. Those meetings went late. I didn't get home until 2:00. And then I had to visit campaign headquarters at 9:00 AM to talk about what we covered. I didn't even get out of there until almost 2:00. It's been a long weekend."

She shrugged, smirking at him. "I'm sure you almost would have preferred being tired from the lovemaking."

He grinned. "I would have enjoyed that more, but this was important too." She nodded, even as she moved to a different folder. "So, let me ask again: What are you doing here on your day off? Those are rare enough as it is."

She gave him a look. "I'd have more time if my boss wasn't such a slave-driver." She smirked a bit. "But I needed to start getting together the reports on the various bills and projects I've worked on. The Summer Semester is coming up and even if Georgetown is allowing the professor to give credit based on actual experience, I still have to show proof." She paused as he considered that. "I'll need you to approve each one. And you need to make certain I don't include anything that is White House only."

He said wryly, "You probably know that stuff better than I do."

Her smiled widened and then she became more normal. "Which is why they're allowing me credit. But considering we're in the middle of a campaign and that internal strategies in dealing with Congress are need to know, it's better if you sign off of what I come up with. We really don't need the Ritchie campaign getting it's hands on that kind of thing. Which is why I'm concentrating on bills we've pushed that are already either already law or that already died."

Josh considered that. "So, which particular paper are you working on, and which credit?"

"International Political Economy. I'm writing a paper on the Interaction between Corporate America and Political Ideologies in the Third World. And I'm citing the whole situation surrounding that meeting with the Pharmaceutical companies, the African nations, and the White House."

Josh winced. That whole thing had fallen apart when Kundu had a rebellion and Nimbala had been forced from power and then executed. But as a paper, it was a prime example for International Political Economy. "Well, I'll definitely need to approve whatever you include. There were security concerns involved especially after the Kundu rebellion. But if you have any questions, ask. I was in those meetings."

"Of course," Donna answered.

Josh nodded. "Okay. I'm going to go work on campaign issues. Bruno and Greg are discussing long term strategies this week and I have to be ready."

"Let me know if you need anything."

"Will do."

As he turned, she stopped him. "By the way …"

"Yeah?" he looked back.

"If you see Ainsley, ask how her father is doing. He's been ill and she might have to take a leave if he gets worse, or even resign, so she can go help her mother."

Josh considered that. "I'm sorry to hear that. He's a Republican, but I know how much she loves her parents." He then considered that. "How much will that affect her help with making sure I don't prevent you from doing what you need?"

Donna gave him a small smile. "She promised that even if she ends up having to leave, that will just make it so she doesn't have to be nice to you about making sure you follow the rules."

Josh shuddered a bit. "So right now what I see is her being _nice_?"

Donna nodded. "Yep."

Josh looked off, considering that. "That's actually kind of scary."

"I know." Donna smirked at her boss momentarily before going back to her computer to type in the next paragraph.

Josh fled to his office. He didn't want to think about that right now. He had things to do on the campaign which had to happen outside of normal office hours, which is why he was in on a Sunday and not over at Amy's having sex.

* * *

Donna had finished her current paper along with having gathered the relevant copies of supporting documents but Josh was still working. However, even as she went to check on him, he appeared at his office door. "Okay. I'm off to campaign headquarters before going home."

Donna nodded. "Okay. Well, I'm off to finish my laundry before I run out. You need a call tomorrow?"

Josh smiled briefly. "Yep. 5:30, if you could."

Donna nodded and started retrieving her things. "When are you going to get an actual alarm clock that always wakes you up?"

Josh gave an almost embarrassed smile. "Alarm doesn't do it when I'm really tired. It's got to be the phone or an actual human voice."

She shook her head. "You and clocks. And that says nothing about your crappy watch."

He glanced at his watch. "It's my favorite."

"But it keep crappy time," she said with some annoyance.

"But it does keep time," he said as though he had won an argument.

She rolled her eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'll walk you out," he said, grinning.

* * *

It was 5:30 the next morning and Josh's sleep was interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing. From the pile of bed coverings, a hand shot out. "Hello," the voice sounded.

Donna's voice came through. "Time to run the country."

Josh, in his tiredness, mused that Donna was far too amused by the old Dunkin Donuts commercial. "Time to make the donuts," had been funny. The derivative was less amusing, slightly inspiring but very repetitive. "Okay."

"You going to stay awake?"

He sighed. "Yeah. I'm up."

"Sure," the sarcastic reply came through.

He opened his eyes. "Okay. I'm physically getting up." He did that. "You getting in before me?"

"When do I not?" Donna asked with an arch tone.

"True. Anyway. As soon as you get in, let Margaret know I need to speak to Leo after Senior Staff about my campaign meetings."

"I'll pass it along. But maybe show up early and see him before Senior Staff."

"Maybe."

"Okay. Get yourself dressed and get out of there. I'll see you in a while."

"Okay." He smiled with a slight smirk. "Maybe pick me up some coffee on the way?" His voice was teasing.

"Your mother must have been a saint to deal with repeated childlike requests even when you know she'd say no." Donna's tone was dismissive.

"Goodbye," Josh said with more emphasis.

"Bye."

* * *

Donna Moss worked at her desk as she screwed up her courage to ask Josh for help.

It was Thursday night. After several more strategy meetings, earlier that day he had given her a list of names for a closed door meeting in the Roosevelt room that night he had given her a list of names to meet in the Roosevelt room for late afternoon/evening.

An email from a friend, Sally Sidleman (and wasn't that just the most middle-class name in the world, with alliteration and everything) had mentioned that her favorite teacher, Mrs. Molly Morello, was going to be retiring at the end of the year. And Molly Morello had been the teacher who had inspired her in high school to actually move beyond the middle-class, white bread lifestyle that she had envisioned as a teenage girl. Molly Morello was why she worked in the White House.

She glanced around. For a late Thursday night, it was quite busy. Because Congress was set to go on recess soon, many things had to be finished in the next six days or they wouldn't be done until after the summit in Finland which is what she would be concentrating on when Congress recessed.

And because it was an election year, there were many events, announcements, and meetings. Add that to the Presidential Reelection campaign and she knew she wouldn't be getting much sleep in the next week.

1:00 was likely the end time – when it hit 10:00 on the West Coast.

Finally she screwed her courage up. Josh came to find his National Strategies binders and asked her to find the Cabinet Amplification report and to get the AP farm guy back on the phone. She said, "I shall do those things." And gave her cute smile in response.

Josh immediately knew something was up, and thus started her lobbying for a Presidential Proclamation for Molly Morello Day.

* * *

Later that night, close to midnight, she had been called to the Oval Office. And while the President had told her that a proclamation was impossible, she was incredible touched that her boss had made the effort even after explaining why it was unlikely.

It was just the last in a long line of reasons she loved working with and for Josh and one of the many reasons she held a certain affection for him. And she was especially blown away when the President, at 12:00 on a Thursday night, even after dealing with a possible nuclear spill, took the time to arrange a personal call to Molly Morello from the Oval Office.

As she stood there listening to President Bartlet give his time and attention to acknowledge Mrs. Morello's service in teaching America's youth for over four decades, she reflected that it was times like this that firmed her resolve that no matter what happened in her life, she would never regret giving up every plan that she had had up until her breakup with Dr. Freeride, as Josh so enthusiastically named her ex, to drive 1100 miles and 20 hours to insert herself into the Presidential campaign of a New England governor who was almost unknown and those that did thought him unlikely to ever make it to the White House.

And when it was done, the President looked up at her and said, "Well, Mrs. Morello, it's about 12:30 here and so it's 11:30 there. And you have bright students in the morning which you have to teach."

"Yes, Mr. President," Mrs. Morello's voice came back.

"Donna? Is there anything else you want to say before we sign off?"

Donna considered it. "Mrs. Morello?"

"Yes, Donna?"

"I don't know if you heard, but I didn't quite finish college. And while I love what I do and where I work, my immediate boss, Josh Lyman, is helping to make sure I have the time and resources to finish my degree even with working 80 hours a week and reelecting the President. It's going to take a couple of years, but would you mind terribly coming to my graduation when I get my degree?" Donna's voice was hopeful and filled with love, as though talking to a beloved older family member.

"Oh, Donna. That's wonderful. Just let me know when it is and I'll be there with bells on."

Donna smile widely and said, "Thank you." She glanced at the President, who was watching her, and finished. "It was wonderful talking to you. Good luck with retirement and I just want to say … I love you Mrs. Morello." She had tears in her eyes as she said that.

"Oh, Donna. I've always loved my students but I always had a soft spot for some of my favorites. I love you too. Good night."

"Good night."

When the call was finished she looked at the President. "Thank you, Mr. President. That was an incredible kind thing to do for her. She was my favorite teacher and she really is the reason why I ended up working here."

The President smiled and said, "Well, that alone was worth the time to call her. You are a very valuable member of the White House staff." Donna fought tears through her smile. With some humor the President said, "I honestly think Josh would have exploded in the first six months if you weren't the one keeping him pointed in the right direction."

She couldn't help but giggle at that. "I do try, Mr. President."

The President nodded and the looked at her. "And what's this about finishing your degree? I hadn't heard about that."

Donna considered how much to say. "Well about mid February, I was offered a job in the private sector by Casey Reid as Issues Director for an internet startup called CapitolScoop dot com. I told Josh about it in passing – he was kind of being annoying. I I refused, but it was a very attractive offer for a girl who didn't even finish her degree. It was quite a shock." She smiled. "When I told Casey I wasn't qualified. He basically said that being Josh's traffic cop for three years was like an MA in power-brokering." Her smile became wider. "Josh has a reputation."

The President laughed. "I am aware."

"Anyway. I told Josh about it. And even if he couldn't give me a raise or a title bump, he actually started working, without me even knowing, on how I could get my degree while still working full time for the White House. He got Charlie's advice and even asked Ainsley Hayes about it to make certain there were no legal issues – whatever they might have been . But Ainsley was quite impressed and offered Josh to play hall monitor to make certain that his tendency to obsess on current issues doesn't allow him to prevent me from doing what's needed. He accepted. It was incredible sweet."

The President considered what was being said. "That's quite good of him looking out for your future. Do you have plans when you finish your degree?"

Donna laughed lightly. "When we're done in five years, whatever I get offered. Until then, I'll be working in operations or wherever the White House and you need me."

The President was moved by that; his people were incredibly loyal. "Well, if there is anything I can do – advice, a letter of recommendation, or even if you need a note for one of your professors – don't hesitate to ask. I'm looking forward to seeing you get your diploma."

"Thank you, Mr. President," she replied with a wide smile. "I'll do that."

"Okay." He glanced at the clock. "It's getting really late and you still have to finish whatever. So off you go."

"Yes, Mr. President. Thank you. Have a good night."

He nodded and watched as one of his favorite assistants, even one of his favorite people, walked back to where she worked.

* * *

The next morning was Friday and most of the senior staff were a bit tired – it had been a late night. But everyone was there at 8:00 and they still had the business of the nation to take care of even if they were already working late nights on the current session and reelection.

It was the end of Senior Staff. While the meeting of senior White House staff often did not include the President, there were many times that it did.

Due to the number of events, bills, and other items being dealt with, the President was in this particular meeting. While much of the work on the campaign and within the White House was taken care of without his direct input, he did need at least the broad outlines. The upcoming summit, scheduled for two and a half weeks from then, was also brought up. State was still working on details but things were progressing along.

Who would travel with the President was the subject covered. And due to the high level of importance of thee summit, it was finally decided that the majority, if not all, of the senior staff would go along with the President. The only question was whether Leo would also go or stay behind to keep an eye on things, with the senior assistants dealing with day to day operations as required.

Currently, things were leaning toward the entire senior staff going along. That meant that none of the senior assistants would go, as someone had to keep the White House open. The Monday immediately following the return would re-open Congress and the normal chaos would resume.

At the end, Leo looked at everyone. "Anything else?"

The President spoke up. "I have something." Everyone turned, not having expected that. "Josh. What's this I hear about Donna going back to school?"

Josh glanced around, noticing most people were interested. "Well, it's just something that needed to happen."

Leo was curious. "What brought this on?"

Josh sighed. "Well, Donna's pretty regular about asking for a raise."

Leo commented, "I hear it from Margaret too."

"Anyway, you remember the night of that visit we had from our friend?" The President nodded. Stanley Keyworth had been brought in to help with issues. "Anyway, she went out for drinks with an old friend. He offered her a job making more your salary would have been if Congress hadn't raised it a couple of years ago. It kind of scared me."

CJ commented, "Yeah. I'd hate to see your office without Donna."

Josh half smiled/half grimaced. "Yeah." He looked back at the President. "Anyway. It got me to thinking. Donna, like pretty much anyone else who works here, sacrifices a lot. She works anywhere from 60 to 80 hours a week, like most assistants, and we could never afford to pay these people what they're really worth. I mean. Just think." He looked at Leo. "How much harder would it be if you didn't have Margaret?"

Leo actually almost shuddered at that. "Yeah."

Josh nodded. "Exactly. They're on a government salary but even if and when we win reelection, this is _still_ a temp job. And Donna's incredibly intelligent, incredibly loyal, and incredibly able. She deserves every chance to make the life she wants when this is done. So even if it's almost impossible to get her a raise or really any perks, I at least want to make sure she can go as far as her drive and vision takes her. Honestly, she should make as much as me – she does just as much or more to keep this place running. So if I can make sure she had a chance for a degree, add that her record as Senior Assistant to the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, and the world will be her oyster."

The President considered what was said. He nodded and then asked curiously, "What's her major?"

Josh smiled. "I suggested with a Poli Sci with a minor in Public Administration. I figured she could get credit for the work she already is doing. Ainsley backed me up, was actually impressed with that idea. She already finished two years with a pretty high GPA and I think she's pretty much a shoe in."

Leo smirked. "I can buy that."

Sam commented, "It sounds right to me."

Toby said in his gruff manner, "I'm tempted to give her a higher level job in communications. She's really good."

Leo ignored Josh getting annoyed and said, "I already said if Margaret ever runs off on me, I'm stealing Donna."

The President said, "If I thought Operations wouldn't collapse without her, I'd take her as my Executive Secretary."

CJ said, "I wonder what would happen if she knew exactly how important we think she is."

Josh said, "You can all just keep your mitts off of my Donna. She's staying right where she is." Everyone smirked at his comment. His tone was in no way sexual but all of them knew exactly how important Donna was to Josh. The President actually laughed at Josh's consternation.

Leo looked at everyone and said, "Okay. If it's alright with the President, it's time for all of us to go out there and do a job." Everyone looked at the President, who nodded.

"Thank you, Mr. President," was murmured by everyone before they left.

Leo was left standing and watching alongside the President. When they had all left Bartlet said, "You know, he's right. We don't really pay these people what they're really worth."

Leo nodded. "The price of serving. But I did sign off on something."

"Oh?" the President asked.

"About a month ago, Josh actually submitted a proposal for a raise in next year's budget, based on the raise that Congress gives themselves each year. After passing it through the Counsel's office – Ainsley Hayes, our resident Republican – signed off. It's a 3.4 percent raise, the same that Congress is planning. It also includes 2 percent more for any White House worker who went a year without a raise but was in good standing. Most of the assistants are getting a little shorted in my opinion because our people aren't good on lobbying about it, trying to avoid charges of favoritism."

The President said, "It's nice having a Republican to sign off on these things. It makes it a lot easier to sell it."

"It does."

"Aren't you glad I made you hire a Republican?" the President said with humor.

Leo just shook his head. "I'm going to go before Margaret sends the Secret Service to find me." He nodded at the President's grin. "Thank you, Mr. President."

A/N: After this, rest of Season 3 of West Wing is almost meaningless in this story. In S03E18, Charlie is filing taxes. So this is early to mid April. The Shareef/Simon Donovan issues seem to happen in May. The "Ainsley" character isn't seen until the end of the series. She disappeared even if it's not explicitly stated until later in season 4 (when Joe Quincy was hired). Also, according to the show, Season 4 began late September (6 weeks until the election). There's no coverage of the convention (which is mentioned in Season 4 opener) and Season 3 ends about May. So, for all intents and purposes, this story is now mostly free of the shackles of canon as defined by the show at least until the 20 hours of Donna, Josh and Toby being left by the motorcade.

If I write them slightly OOC – well, this is fanfiction. The Amy character's relationship with Josh drops in May (end of Season 3). She's still, theoretically, involved with Josh at this point. She's not that important to my story. As far as Josh and Donna getting together – we'll see. I'm not opposed to romance (which is obvious from many of my fics) but it's not the primary motivation in the story. The genre is friendship/drama. We'll see what happens though.


	6. Amy and Welfare Reform

A/N: Longer one at the end.

S03 Post Episode 18

Donna Moss smiled at Josh's voice behind her "Good morning."

She looked back as he joined her in the walk to their work area. "My man! He came back to me." Her voice was teasing.

"Just like I promised."

The two went on bantering, the quasi-sexual kind that might be considered sexual harassment if both didn't consider it all in good fun. Donna did light up when she saw the box he was giving her.

"Open it."

"I'm just happy it's not moose," she said, thinking it impossible that it would be. Sam's gifts had all been moose-related. "What is it?" Her awe severely diminished at his next words.

His tone was resigned as he said, "Sauna-cured moose meat."

She was torn between faking it and reaming him a new one but she decided to be honest and nice. She looked at him and said, "I'll give you a pass because you've really been good to me about finishing my degree. But I'm giving it away to someone who'll, you know, eat moose. I'm sure there's a hungry intern or two around here."

Josh considered that. "Just make sure they know it's a gift from the Fins." He would have given it over to the mess, but he and everyone who had been in Finland found that moose was just too weird for the American palette and there was no way that he wanted there to be a chance he'd be forced to eat it.

Donna snickered. She really wanted to be mad about Josh giving her something like this, but she could see he was desperate. "Are there any Republican hunters who we want to be nice to? Anyone who likes venison? Isn't a moose like a big deer?"

Josh's face went from slightly morose to smirking over about fifteen seconds. "Remember when Lobel had that meeting when we were going after Campaign finance? He was pretty proud of being a gun-toting redneck son-of-a-bitch."

Donna looked at Josh with a look of consideration. "Actually, for a hardcore Republican Senator, he _has_ been fairly neutral toward us; well, as much as he can given he's one of the Republican leaders. It's less personal and more politics with him."

Josh thought about it. He looked at Donna. "Well, it's up to you. It's your moose now."

She rolled her eyes but smirked. She went to her phone and, after checking her list of numbers, she dialed. "Hello. This is Donna Moss in the Deputy Chief of Staff's office. Is Senator Lobel available?" "No. It's not about any bills or matters before Congress. It's a personal question." "Yes. It's thirty seconds. Sixty at most." "Thank you." She looked at Josh. "We just caught him." She focused again. "Yes, Senator. Donna Moss." "Yes, he's back along with everyone else." "I'll tell him. But we had a question for you. You hunt, right?" "That's right." "Good. Next question: Have you ever hunted moose?" "I know it's a strange question. And no, it's nothing political, I promise." "Okay. So you like a good moose steak?" "Okay. That's good. How long are you in your office today?" "Alright. Someone will be stopping by." "You'll see, Senator." "Until then." She hung up.

She looked at Josh. "He _loves _moose. Like, a _lot_."

"Okay. I guess you can package it up and get it delivered?" Josh asked.

"Yes. And then can we talk about things that happened while you were away?"

* * *

Later, after the meeting of the assistants to get them to shut up about the soon to be leaked White House budget, Donna sat down at her desk to compose a letter for Josh to sign.

_Senator Lobel_

_Please accept from the White House Deputy Chief of Staff the box that was delivered with this letter. It contains twenty pounds of sauna cured moose, a gift to the American delegation from the Finnish delegation during the summit we just returned from._

_My assistant's call earlier was to verify that you appreciate a nice, lean meat. _

_As for the reasons we are gifting this to you, there are a few: _

_a. Regardless of the fact that you are the opposition, you are the loyal opposition. You're a good man that, when he disagrees, is doing it for the reason of his own convictions and not because you would sacrifice the public good to get a cheap shot at the other side. We may disagree with political opponents, but we prefer them to be honest about it._

_b. I was at the meeting with you and President Bartlet when you discussed campaign finance, which was derailed after the incident he and I were involved in. You acted with respect, and we respect you for that._

_c. As mentioned earlier, this is the type of thing which you would appreciate far more than those of us who do not usually eat this type of meat. _

_This is not a gift for political reasons. It's not at the behest of anyone else. I have not yet even mentioned it to either Leo McGarry or the President or any other Senior Staff member. It's not a part of any strategy. It is a personal gift to someone we hope enjoys it._

_Best Regards,_

_Joshua Lyman, Deputy White House Chief of Staff_

_Donna Moss, Senior Assistant to the White House DCOS_

On Josh's next visit back to the office, she got him to sign the letter and then made certain that the White House messenger took the box away along with the letter.

As they watched it be carted off Josh said, "I can't believe I'm sending gifts to Republicans during a presidential election."

Donna shrugged. "He's not really a part of Ritchie's circle. If he was one of the inner circle, I wouldn't have suggested it." She looked at Josh. "But moose? What the hell would I do with moose?"

Josh replied, "Eat it?"

She looked at him with some annoyance. "After you refused?"

He gave her a dimpled grin. "I have a sensitive system."

She rolled her eyes and went back to her desk.

* * *

The next day Donna was in early. Josh had some campaign meetings as well as a few meetings on different bills. Donna was locking down the last few items.

Donna was interrupted when she noticed several of the assistants seemed to be excited about something and finally she went to Margaret. "What's going on?"

Margaret looked at Donna with a wide smile (what passed for it a wide smile for her anyway). "Did you see the story on the White House salaries?"

Donna replied, "No. I knew it was being leaked, it is every year, and we talked about it yesterday, but I didn't want to get depressed."

Margaret reached into her drawer and pulled out a newspaper and handed it over. Donna read the story. Finally she said, "Oh my god."

"I know. Did you know it was coming?"

Donna looked up. "I knew nothing about it."

"I asked Leo. He said CJ was going to explain it during the briefing at 10:00." Margaret's eyes were shining.

Donna nodded in thanks and then handed back the paper, as she had the DCOS copy back in her area. When Josh showed up Donna looked at him and asked, "Did you see the Post article?"

"Which one?" he asked casually.

"The leaked White House salary story?"

"Not yet. I knew it was coming out of course."

Donna picked up the copy she had, already folded so that the story was on top. Josh quickly looked it over. "Yeah. It looks about right."

Donna asked, "So it's accurate?"

"I think so. Probably," Josh replied with a slight smile.

Donna gave a wide smile. "I'm finally getting a raise!"

Josh chuckled quietly. "You can thank Leo. And Ainsley. I was talking about the fact that you've been asking for a raise and that I couldn't give you one. Ainsley pointed out that Congress has been raising their pay every year. Most GS Salaries have been being raised, as negotiated with the unions for government workers. She thought that failing to raise the pay for non-unionized White House workers was unfair, considering the increasing cost of living. Leo worked on it as Chief of Staff and put it through the Counsel's office before it was submitted. People who've been here for the whole term got more because it's been longer since they got a raise. And considering the assistants actually work usually 60 hours a week or more, he thought you deserved at least some recognition."

Donna considered what she had just been told. "So it actually started with you talking to Ainsley about it?"

Josh shrugged. "I guess. But it was Leo who did the work."

"Well, thank you for what you did," Donna said with conviction.

"You're welcome. Now, get back to work."

After the matter had been covered at the briefing, Donna made certain that the other assistants knew who had instigated it, who had championed it, and who had done it.

The next morning, Leo, Josh, and Ainsley were all inundated with thank you cards, and even had flowers delivered. Josh was shocked at what he found at his desk with a note: "I didn't deliver this, and you should not expect a repeat; but for one day at least here's a cup of coffee for you to enjoy along with one of the finest bagels in all the land. Donna."

As Josh finished the note, he thought about what he could do to find out who delivered the coffee. It would be nice to know who might be convinced to bring him coffee because there was no way Donna ever would.

* * *

Donna Moss didn't know whether she should feel complimented or insulted as she started preparing for the unexpected "honor" of being sent to North Dakota.

Josh had been amusing when she had been called by him as he tried to work out exactly what the hell his girlfriend Amy had been doing. Apparently she was listening to rock music and performing Flash Dance moves.

Donna had given up on understanding the odd mental processes that Amy Gardner exhibited.

Donna Moss, as Deputy-Deputy Chief of Staff, respected the woman because she worked on women's issues and that was definitely important. Donna Moss, friend to Josh Lyman, just considered her slightly less eccentric (read: weird) than Willy Wonka, but not by much.

And now Donna was being sent to North Dakota to "be the White House's voice" in some DNC platform meeting about removing North from North Dakota.

And wasn't that just the dumbest idea she had ever heard. But, she was a professional political operative and so she began to research the issue.

* * *

Checking in with Josh from North Dakota, she was briefed on Amy Gardner's reaction to 300 million for Marriage Incentives being added to the Welfare Reform bill in exchange for a billion dollars more for Child Care.

It had been ugly. And it also pissed her off.

She understood Amy's reaction, but this incident solidified her judgment that Amy Gardner was a lobbyist and not a politician. Amy Gardner only cared about her issues and would do anything to push her agenda. Josh, however, knew that politics was a give and take. And now, to keep the bill on track, he had to do a lot of giving to counteract Amy Gardner's efforts.

She hoped her impatience with this stupid issue hadn't been obvious but she was now concentrating on the fact that she had to get back to Washington DC to back up her boss in the mess created because Amy Gardner was acting like a toddler being told no rather than a professional.

* * *

When she got back to the White House, pausing only to deliver Harry Conroy's message to get up off the dirt, she commandeered her boss and shoved him in his office.

"Okay. Tell me exactly what happened that set Amy off," Donna said in a preemptive tone.

Josh gave her an odd look but explained exactly what happened, how Amy had reacted, and what he had done in response.

Donna rolled her eyes and said, "You can stop being pissed off at Amy – it's muddying up your thinking."

Josh asked incredulously, "She's ignoring exactly how destructive she's being to the President's agenda. She claims she's loyal and now I'm stuck here giving away twice as much to get this bill passed."

"Josh. She's being a lobbyist. She isn't being paid to be rational. She's being paid to be single-minded. You remember that paper I was writing for International Economics?" Josh nodded, looking thoughtful. "One thing this whole process of getting a degree forces you to do is to _think_. We spend our time doing the job and don't have time to consider our motivations. Your job is to get it passed. When you were told about the Marriage Incentives, what did you do?"

Josh shrugged. "I talked to Leo and he talked to the President. The consensus was that they do more good than harm and that it wasn't worth fighting about."

"Right. Exactly. You're being the Deputy Chief of Staff and you serve at the pleasure of the President. And you're good at it. Amy's job is to push her boss's objectives. You're looking at her because she's not being loyal – she's being loyal to the woman paying her salary. She's a Democrat, sure, but she's only concerned about pushing her agenda. She doesn't care that this is going to cost the White House political capital. With this, she's on the other side. She's doing everything in her power to force people to follow her boss's agenda. Well, you just have to be better. So be a politician, stop being pissed about having to fight, and let's just do what we have to and make certain the President wins this one."

Donna stood up. "Now I have to go and make sure we're organized enough to do that." Donna went to the door and opened it. She paused on her way. "Oh. And tell Amy that the White House expects her to pay for your cell phone replacement. She wants to damage her own phone so that you can't do your job? That's fine. But she damaged White House property to stop you from doing _your_ job. That could be considered a felony if we really wanted to push it. She should at least cover the cost of repair." And with that, Donna marched out to organize her area for the fight.

Josh blinked in astonishment as he stared at the door that Donna had just walked out of. Finally he recognized internally that Donna was much more politically savvy than even he had considered. He took a long breath and started looking at who he'd have to work next on the vote.

* * *

Donna listened to Josh as he told her about his conversation the night before at Amy Gardner's place before he went home. Finally Josh said, "So after that, I realized you were right. I'm about winning and she's about beating the other guys."

Donna nodded with some sympathy. Josh had been knocked around for an entire week. "So, what can you do about it?"

Josh paused while looking thoughtful and then sighed. "I'm going to have to handle her boss."

Donna considered that. "What can you give her to get her to back the bill?"

Josh thought about it. "We've got the DNC Convention this summer. Maybe something there?"

Donna smiled at that. "I'm sure that there are more than a few platform meetings which will deal with women's issues that she'd be perfect to head."

Josh smirked at that and then stood up. "I'm going to see Bruno. Be ready – there are a few phone calls we're going to have to make." Donna watched as Josh walked with more energy now that there was a viable way forward.

Now that Josh was distracted, she needed to go see Leo. She'd be damned if she let Josh carry the weight of decisions that ultimately weren't up to him.

* * *

Leo McGarry was perusing some of the items about Shareef when his door sounded and he looked up. "What is it?" he asked his assistant.

"Donna Moss is here to see you."

Leo was confused. "Send her in." Leo carefully put the briefing paper away. The White House didn't need even a hint of a clue getting out about what they were contemplating. Donna appeared even as he moved to a different set of briefings. "What's up?" he asked.

"There's something that's been bothering me and I thought I should bring it up quietly rather than making a stink," came the answer.

He peered at her. "What do you have to make a stink about?"

Donna took a breath. "Did you hear about what happened earlier in the Oval Office?"

Leo had been handling the whole gang of eight thing. "Not really."

Donna visibly steeled herself. "I know that it's important that Josh gets the Welfare Reform bill through. And I understand that the President has other things he's working on. But Josh just got reamed out for scheduling this vote on Wednesday to give the President an out on this charity thing, Amy Gardner trying to sabotage it, and the tobacco thing again. Josh didn't just make these decisions unilaterally. He shouldn't be carrying his own weight and everyone else's. I'm having a hard enough time keeping him focused on getting the vote and not wasting his time on Amy Gardner's manipulations without the extra pressure of feeling guilty about things he isn't in charge of."

Leo parsed that whole thing out in his head. "He is involved in a relationship with her and that did complicate things. He's a big boy and should be able to handle the fallout."

Donna nodded. "I know. Josh is loyal to the President and didn't stop to consider that Amy is only loyal to her own interests. He's been expecting support from her because she's a Democrat and can't understand why in the hell she's not backing the White House. Well, we all know that that isn't how the game is played and I fixed that issue with him. But you've got to make sure that Josh isn't dealing with unreasonable blame when he's already dealing with everything else. He shouldn't be charged for a screw up because of Amy's actions. That's all I'm saying."

Leo had to concede that Donna had a point. And while the President was under enormous strain on Shareef, it was his own Job to take the heat so that the rest could do their own jobs. "I'll take care of it."

Donna gave him a smile. "Thanks. And don't mention this to Josh – me coming to you wasn't his idea. We all serve at the pleasure of the President. We're handling it and we won't let him down."

Leo nodded. "Okay then. I'll keep it to myself."

"Thanks." Donna quickly left. Leo worked out in his head what he'd say to his boss and when would be the best time to say it.

* * *

A/N: Can I just say? I was missing a whole lot when I saw the West Wing episode where Shareef gets taken out. Originally, during the Victorius song when there were dead bodies on the stage, I had thought it a part of the play. I didn't realize that the President was seeing the dead bodies that were coming during the assassination.

Finally, I paid attention to detail and when I saw the image of the US seals coming up and looking at the dead bodies, which didn't fit into the characters from the play showing up, did I realize that the whole thing was President Bartlet's imagery of the Assassination of Abdul ibn Shareef mixing in with the imagery he we seeing of the Henry play in that final scene.

I was an idiot. Okay. Oh, and the whole moose meat thing was kind of pointless, but something about it from the show bothered me. So I rewrote it.

The portrayal of Donna Moss at that DNC Platform meeting emphasized a seeming lack of "something" which always bothered me. She was rigid and robotic as she read the prepared statement Josh had given her. And when she was finally goaded into a reaction to point out the differences in temperature and so forth between North and South Dakota, her tone was: How can you people be such idiots?

And so to explain it, I believe I came up with possible reasons, which I used here. Unimportant in the grand scheme, but somewhat emblematic of her personality.


	7. Shareef, Post PrimariesPre Convention

S03 End and pre Season 4

Admiral Percy Fitzwallace sat at the table with the congressional leaders as Leo McGarry walked off.

Once he was gone the President of the Senate looked at the Admiral and asked, "So we stay here to read these, correct?"

Fitzwallace gave a non-shrug motion. "It's as confidential a matter as anything that I've delivered to the Intelligence Committee." Percy paused to consider that. "Actually, it's even more top secret. What does Congress do with the classified files that are eyes only?"

The ranking member of the Intelligence Committee in the House chuckled. "Do you have the redacted copies for our files?"

"I have one of my aides waiting with them. The originals are where the law says they have to be. These copies will be shredded under my aide's supervision as I will have to get ready for the operation when we're done here."

"Well, we better get to it," the Minority leader of the Senate said.

Every man there knew how confidential this was and none of them complained about the time needed out of their day. The reports for this matter were one of the few where even the files containing confidential information were redacted. Only a very few copies of the original file would ever be found until the matter became public or the 50-year limit was reached. And even then, those copies would only be less-redacted and not fully legible.

The National Security Act recognized that some information never saw the light of day.

Fitzwallace waited patiently. As he sat there, he noticed one particular Senator watching him. "Senator?"

Everyone else looked up from the report. Senator Max Lobel peered at the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "Admiral. How much is this tearing him up?"

Admiral Fitzwallace was torn between holding it in and telling the truth. He was loyal to Jed Bartlet. Originally, he had been loyal because he was a soldier and Bartlet was President. But Jed Bartlet had long since convinced Percy Fitzwallace that he was worth his loyalty.

Fitz sighed. "It hasn't been easy. He ran State, Justice, and the Alphabet Soup ragged to find any way, _any_ way, that we could handle this without resorting to something that he finds morally reprehensible. But he's the President. When he was finally convinced that there was no other way, he ordered this upon the suggestion of his advisors. But he knew it had to go this way even before it was brought up. He's the President and it's his job. No one else can take the weight. He's going to tear himself up about it all the up until it happens, and then when it's done, he'll tear himself up some more about it. But he'll do it. Because it's the only way and because he wants to protect his people. Even the ones who hate him. But yeah, it hasn't been easy for him."

Everyone listening was somewhat humbled by the staunch loyalty of the highest ranking military leader in the country outside of the President himself. Not one of them would want to be in Bartlet's shoes right then, but all of them were willing to support him on it. Because Shareef was a bad man and he was a threat to everything they believed in.

Max Lobel closed the folder and pushed it over. "I'll take the redacted copy now – I've read enough."

The other seven men, after a moment's consideration, repeated that action. Percy Fitzwallace gathered the files into a pile and went to retrieve the redacted copies.

Max Lobel looked around at the other Congressional leaders. "What do you all say we give Bartlet a fairly easy pass on that vote that's happening tonight?"

The Democrats were almost fish-faced. The Republicans were a bit leery. The Senate Majority leader said, "As much as we might respect _this_, he's still the leader of the other party and we are engaged in an election against him." Max noted that the man's tone wasn't disapproving, just observational.

"That's true." Max looked off for a moment and then back. "But the bill's gonna pass – Lyman is working overtime on it. We got the Marriage Incentives our constituents wanted and they got the Childcare that their side wanted. It's time to stop fighting. And no matter our disagreements, and I have quite a lot, Bartlet's a man who stands up. Even the MS thing – he took the censure without protest. I heard the rumors, same as all of you. Everyone else wanted to fight it, but he finally said, 'I was wrong and a man stands up'. This Shareef thing is hard enough on him. Let's not make it any harder. Tonight we recognize that he's the President and we back him up. Tomorrow we can go back to being on the other side. For tonight, we need to let it go."

The senior House Republic member said with some humor, "We're going to have to come up with a reason why we aren't fighting harder. It's not like we can tell everyone why we're doing it."

Max shrugged and said with some amusement, "We're politicians. I'm sure we can come up with something on the way back to the Hill."

As he walked out of the White House that afternoon to return to his office, Max Lobel mused that he was feeling remarkably good. He had quite enjoyed his dinner the night before.

* * *

Josh Lyman and Donna Moss noted a distinct change in tenor with their phone calls starting early to mid afternoon, even as the President was on Air Force One on the way to New York.

Josh had been expecting a lot more negotiating and deal making. But suddenly, quite a number of the people they had been expecting to argue with suddenly were confirming that they would be voting yea.

Around the same time, Amy Gardner was in her own offices. And suddenly there were quite a few members of Congress that they had been counting on started to not be available for calls.

She didn't know how it happened, but something had changed. And by 6:00, she resigned herself to the idea that this one wasn't going to go her way no matter what she did.

She looked at the clock and decided that it was time to go home. She took a few minutes to type out her resignation – it was the only answer she had for having a policy initiative overturned so definitively. After putting the envelope on her boss's desk, she took some time to pack up a box from her office and left.

That night, when Josh appeared at her door, she really wanted to fight about it. At least she had been expecting a fight. She had worked herself up to be ready to fight.

Instead, Josh was … blandly pleasant.

Finally she said, "Okay. Let me have it. I've been waiting for it."

Josh looked at her and sighed. "I'm done being pissed at you about the whole thing."

Amy looked at Josh in confusion and said, "How?" This was _not_ going the way she had expected.

Josh shrugged and said, "Yeah. I was pissed about it. But Donna convinced me that I shouldn't be. So now I'm not."

Now Amy was _really_ confused. Donna was someone that actually made Amy a bit nervous. She didn't think that Donna liked her particularly but it was something that she had decided to live with. But now she had to ask, "How did she do that?"

Josh had a small smile as he said, "When Donna came back from North Dakota, she walked into my response to your work to derail it. I was pissing and moaning about your lack of loyalty and she basically told me to suck it up. I was pissed that you weren't being loyal to the President because you're a Democrat. She pointed out that you were being loyal to your boss and your cause. You were a lobbyist and it was your job to push your agenda regardless of party issues. I was concentrating so much on Us vs. Them that I was ignoring that my job right then was to back the President's decision to not fight the issue because it wasn't worth the political capital it would take to change their minds. When I was told about the incentives, I talked to my boss, he talked to the President, and as much as he thinks Marriage Incentives are a crock, he also was realistic in recognizing that you don't get to have everything when you're compromising. So I did what I was told. Even if you hated it. Because that was my job. And I'm good at my job."

Amy stood there contemplating her boyfriend as she considered what he was saying. And even as she privately appreciated that Josh's assistant had saved her a whole lot of irritation, she also knew that there was something about Donna Moss that just annoyed the hell out of hell out of her.

She was about to reply when the phone rang. All thoughts on the matter fled as the voice on the other side told her about the tragedy of Simon Donovan.

Once she handed the phone to Josh, she watched him as he took in the news and started making plans. After a final, "Thank you," he hung up the phone.

Before she could ask questions, Josh picked up the phone again. "Donna. This is Josh." "Simon Donovan was killed in New York tonight." "No. It was something else. Apparently they caught the guy who was harassing CJ before it happened." "He walked into a robbery when he was off duty." "Yeah. It really _does_ suck." "I need you to contact the Office of Protocol. They need to start working with the Secret Service. We're going to need to get a copy of his file." "He was killed in the line of duty even if he wasn't on duty at the time and while they'll handle notification and arranging the funeral, we've got to think about who else needs to be invited." "I don't know where he grew up or what agencies he worked for. But we've got to make sure invitations are sent." "We don't need to go back in tonight, but we need to work with Communications, Protocol, and the Secret Service first thing." "Right. Tomorrow morning." "Good night."

Josh hung up the phone and sighed. "You think you're having a good day and something like this happens. It never ends."

Amy could only say, "That's the way it seems to be." Her heart went out to the man who now showed obvious grief and not a small amount of exhaustion.

* * *

It was a somber day six days later as mourners gathered at the National Cathedral. President Bartlet had been fully on board with Josh's efforts to make sure that Simon Donovan was fully honored. The memorial service was held and then the casket was escorted to Arlington.

Simon Donovan had been a member of the armed services in addition to having lost his life as a Secret Service agent. His family had been honored to have him buried there rather than his home town.

The US Flag at the White House had been flown at half staff the day of his funeral, and would only be raised fully once the casket had been interred. In addition, members of the Chicago Police Department, NYPD, the DC police, and the US Army had been included in his funeral procession in recognition of his service in the army and his time with the Chicago PD. The NYPD presence was in recognition for him having died in New York. Other law enforcement agencies had also been represented.

With the President's attendance, many Secret Service agents who would not have been able to attend due to their duty requirements could attend. And they appreciated the opportunity to pay tribute to one of their own.

Donna was with Josh and other members of the staff on the way back to the White House from the funeral. The members of the Senior Staff and their assistants were riding together as the limo they were in could seat eight and there was a desire to free up space for additional Secret Service members to ride in the motorcade as well.

The other staff were listening to CJ as she talked about Simon. At one point, Donna clutched Josh's arm and he looked at her curiously. She murmured, "Later." He nodded.

When they got back, Josh asked her about it. "What was that about in the limo?"

Donna looked at Josh earnestly. "Remember what CJ was talking about?" Josh nodded. "The teenager who Simon was with as a big brother: Who's going to do that now?"

Josh thought about it. "I don't know. It wasn't something that came up."

Donna nodded at that. "Do family members get help when an agent dies?"

Josh was about to say that he was certain it was being taken care of but then paused. "I don't know. I'd have to ask."

Donna said, "You should talk to Frank Tinney. In all the work going on to arrange the funeral, I don't know if anyone has thought about it. And it sounds like something that was important to Agent Donovan. Someone needs to take up what got dropped when he got killed."

Josh replied, "I'll call him. There isn't much I can do, but I think CJ would be relieved if it was taken care of. She really seemed to think that Simon loved being a big brother."

"I agree." The two went back to their office area and Donna stood by as Josh made the call. When it was done Josh said, "He'll look into it and let us know."

Donna nodded in acknowledgement and went to start working on the next thing on their plate.

* * *

As Josh walked to his office from Sam's area, he noticed something strange: Donna Moss was standing there, apparently doing nothing, just outside his office. She wasn't even looking around. He paused and peered at her, trying to figure out what she was doing.

Josh himself was just getting back from different meetings he had on campaign issues because the Democratic National Convention was scheduled for early August that year and there were quite a number of things to sort out before it hit.

The varying schedule of the conventions was always something that had made him crazy. The Primaries were anywhere from early January to early June but there was no statutory requirements so it changed every election cycle.

Some years the conventions were as early as late June and some years the conventions ended up being after Labor Day.

For someone like him, the chaos of it was both annoying and invigorating. Because the President was up for reelection, the Democratic Convention had been pushed to as early as possible because there was no anticipation of a challenge. The Republicans had originally forced them later but that played against them as Ritchie had become the presumptive nominee quite early in the Primary schedule.

The latter half of the primaries had been almost pointless. Even that year's Super Tuesday, an event which was on a different date during every election, had been fairly anticlimactic.

After Ritchie had moved form single digits to the front runner by March, the other Republicans in the field had basically folded and got behind the man who hoped to unseat the President.

Josh almost couldn't believe that the Republicans would be nominating such an idiot. But as John Hoynes had pointed out, Ritchie's position as the Governor of Florida with many family members being overwhelmingly popular in Texas actually posed a threat in the election, a surprising effective threat considering the man's utter lack of suitability that any intelligent person could see if they opened one eye.

There was a reason that Josh Lyman considered the average Republican voter, and even the average Democratic voter, completely brainless. So he was an elitist: Sue him.

Still, he had no idea why Donna Moss was standing in Ops apparently doing nothing. So he quietly walked forward until he was just behind her. "What are you doing?"

Donna whirled around and said, "Josh! How did your meetings go?"

"They were fine. But what are you doing?" Donna looked over to her desk to see a young man doing work that Donna normally did. "Who is he?"

Donna said, "You don't need to know his name yet." She said it loudly enough for the guy to hear her. "If I'm going to be out of the office for class, someone's got to make sure this place doesn't fall apart. And so I'm going to be working through the pool from personnel until I find someone who can _do the job_." She was at her snarkiest – which was kind of hot, Josh admitted even only in the privacy of his own mind.

Josh looked at her almost wide-eyed. "What happened to my nice assistant? The woman who is cheerful and helpful even when I think she shouldn't be?"

Donna looked at him and smirked. "If they can't handle _me_ not being nice, then how in the hell are they going to handle the normal _you_ if I'm not there as a buffer?"

Josh was about to snark back but paused to consider what she had said. Donna had a point. "Okay then. Maybe I can get whoever is covering to get me coffee."

Donna gave him the gimlet eye and then raised her voice a bit. "Ted?" The guy looked over. "If you ever succumb to Josh Lyman begging you to get him coffee, I'll fire you instantly. Do you understand?"

Ted, apparently the guy's name, looked almost frightened as he said, "Understood, Ms. Moss." He then turned back to the desk.

Josh stood there watching a moment and murmured, "I don't think this is the one."

Donna sighed and said just as quietly, "You're probably right. At least this is only the first one. I'll get _someone_. Just you watch."

Josh grinned at her and said, "Carry on."

* * *

Leo happened to be coming to visit Josh when Donna found the right person for the job. She had run though about six different people until Rebecca Simpson was sent.

Donna was standing back watching Rebecca work when Leo appeared next to her, also pausing to watch. Both of them observed Josh come out of his office and say, "I need you to drop what you're doing and go pick up these files from OEOB." He set a paper down.

She looked at it and said, "Is there some emergency which requires this at this moment? A meeting you have in less than an hour?"

Josh was exasperated. "I just need you to get the files."

She looked straight at him and said, "I'll get the files but you're going to have to wait for half an hour. Because if I drop this I'll lose four hours of work. So I'm sorry, Mr. Lyman, but unless it's an emergency, you have to wait. Maybe take a break and get your own coffee."

Completely annoyed Josh said a bit loudly, "You're fired!"

Rebecca looked at him and then called to Donna. "Am I fired?"

Donna smirked and said, "No." Her tone was definite.

Rebecca nodded, looked back at Josh and said, "Sorry, Mr. Lyman. Impervious."

Josh looked at Donna with a disbelieving face. Donna just grinned at him. Leo, standing beside her, had to squash his own desire to laugh at his Deputy Chief of Staff.

Donna said to Josh, "Because it's been a tough day, I'll go get the files and let Rebecca work without supervision. You'll have them soon."

Josh took a deep breath and then let it out. "Fine."

Donna turned and looked at Leo. "I'm keeping her. And even when I'm not in class, I'm still not sending her back. I'd like to get her assigned as either Secretary or Assistant for the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff. I'll be the Senior Assistant if it comes to that."

Leo looked at Donna (who looked slightly smug), looked at Rebecca (who looked slightly hopeful), looked at Josh (who looked slightly resigned), and then back to Donna. "Done. Work with her on the title. And she answers to you. You're still the one in charge of keeping Josh from falling apart."

Donna smiled widely. "That works for me. Thanks, Leo." She went to get the list of files that Josh needed from OEOB.

Josh almost felt like knocking his head against the wall but he sucked it up. "Is there something you needed, Leo?"

Rebecca only gave a happy grin to Donna, who smiled widely back.

A/N: It was always strange that the Deputy Chief of Staff only seemed to have one Assistant and no secretary. Donna did all the work of about four people. I figured that would have to be fixed if this story was going to work.


	8. Research and Classwork

A/N: This chapter is to mostly highlight how Donna having a class would affect her job and Josh's. It's not supposed to be dramatic.

It was two weeks until the conventions started and Josh Lyman was reviewing budget markups for issues that would affect the campaign.

While the vast majority of his work involved coordinating new legislation and helping the White House push its agenda through Congress, it couldn't be denied that the truly hard work that was required every year was getting the budget approved.

Congress members attached riders and earmarks to appropriations bills which allowed them to push their agenda outside of the obvious enactment of new law.

Regardless of the election Appropriations was a continual fight which required real work.

As he read the bill, he found something which annoyed him: A rider attached by a Democrat who had refused to back the President on the Welfare Reform bill. He had promised that the White House would take notice and now he had.

Just as he was about to scream out for Donna, he remembered that she wasn't in the office. It was Tuesday and one of the classes requiring she actually show up was scheduled. This particular class was five weeks long and was scheduled to finish the next week.

It was times like this that reminded him that he had sacrificed something to allow Donna the opportunity to finish her degree.

Josh considered his next step. Finally, rather than bug Rebecca, the new Assistant (and Donna's protégée), Josh decided to just make notations and to list all of his concerns at once.

It wasn't the instant gratification he tried for normally but would make it easier for Donna to deal with everything at once.

It was actually a gamble because this bill was scheduled for a vote in just three days and every hour counted.

* * *

Donna Moss breezed in to Operations following her class. On the way to her desk she asked the new Assistant, "Anything I need to know?"

Rebecca looked up from her work. "He's been quiet. He hasn't bellowed once."

Donna's eyebrows rose at that. She glanced at Josh's closed door and quickly put her books down at her own desk, put away her purse, and went to her boss's door. She knocked before just opening it and going it.

"I'm back. What's on the table?" she asked.

Josh looked up from the binder. "Oh, good. We've got the appropriations bill to finish. I've got five riders I need you to research – they're trying to be sneaky."

Donna sighed. "Give me what you have so far." She knew this was going to take time – there was a reason that research was necessary.

Josh handed her the list he had made. "ASAP. This is scheduled Friday. And so we need to make sure it's handled by Thursday."

"Okay." As she walked away, she knew that she'd have a late night.

* * *

It was 9:30 Wednesday night and Donna Moss was typing furiously on her computer, glancing at the clock regularly.

Josh was in a meeting on the hill based on the research and she was in the midst of the chaos which was part and parcel to finishing off one of these bills. She had half an hour and then she would be back to doing whatever Josh needed done.

In the interim, she had a paper she had to polish off and that's what she was doing. It was due the next morning and some of the research she had needed had just come in. Otherwise she would have had it finished.

The problem with accelerated classes was that the necessary time to do the work was precious; and the White House tended to eat up every spare moment if you gave it the chance. She mused that she and Josh had been optimistic when he had encouraged her to do this.

As she was typing she was interrupted. "Donna?" She looked up from her desk to see Sam standing there with a hopeful look. "I was wondering if you had time to look up something for me."

She argued with herself for a moment. "What is it and how important is it that it happen now?"

Sam's face lost some of that hope. "I'm working on the President's speech for the Fundraiser on Saturday. It's the last big speech before the convention and I need numbers on ..." He stopped when he saw Donna's face become less patient.

"How important is it that this happen _right now_?" she repeated. And then she added, "And why are you coming to me rather than one of the people in Communications?"

Sam opened his mouth to answer and then paused. Sheepishly he admitted, "I came to you because you're faster than anyone else with these things. As far as needing it right now?" He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I really need it by tomorrow night I suppose. It would mean a late night tomorrow though."

Donna nodded. "I have to finish a paper in the next twenty minutes for my current class which is due in the morning. And when Josh comes back from meeting Standish, I'll be on whatever is needed for that. So I'll be busy all night. So either get someone in Communications to handle it or wait until tomorrow afternoon."

Sam struggled for a moment. Finally he said, "I guess tomorrow afternoon would work."

Donna sighed and put out her hand. Sam dropped the list of things he needed, said his thanks, and retreated.

Donna mused that the White House senior staff were like little boys who demanded instant gratification or they would pout and have tantrums (especially Josh). She only wondered when she had been made the nanny.

* * *

The senior staff meeting the next morning started at 8:00.

Leo looked at Josh. "What's happening on 694?" He was asking about the appropriations bill Josh had been working on.

Josh answered quickly. "We've got most of it sorted out. We knocked out four of the six riders that we had concerns about. We're in negotiations on the other two. They won't disappear but they'll be more reasonable."

Leo nodded. "Just keep track. We don't need any last minute changes that we aren't ready for."

Josh smiled confidently. "We're on it."

Leo looked at Toby. "How is the speech for the fundraiser coming?"

Toby looked at Sam expectantly. Sam cleared his throat. "Well, I won't have all of the research I need until this afternoon. I'll have a better idea then."

"What's the holdup?" Leo asked curiously.

Sam sighed. "Well, I asked Donna to do it because, well, she's better at this kind of thing than we are. But she was knee deep last night and …"

Josh interrupted. "Wait!" He quickly rifled through the papers he was holding and asked, "Is this the report you're looking for?"

Sam accepted the document. "Yeah. This is it. She said she couldn't do it till this afternoon."

Josh replied, "I took care of Standish …"

"California 33rd?" Leo asked.

Josh nodded. "I handled Standish's rider last night more easily than expected so I didn't need Donna much past 10:30, though we were here until midnight. She was pretty tired when she dropped this on my desk, told me to deliver it, and left. She forgot to say who though – I was going to ask her when she got in after her 8:00 class."

Sam nodded even as he quickly scanned the report. "Yeah. This is what I needed. Can you thank her for me?" He turned to Leo. "I'll have the first draft ready for Toby by 6:00."

Leo nodded. "Why is Donna doing research for you?" he asked curiously.

Sam sighed. "Cathy, Bonnie and Ginger were too busy last night on other things. She's just better at this kind of thing and puts it in a better format than the other people who I could have put on it."

Leo looked at Josh and asked, "How much research does she do for people other than you?"

Josh looked like a deer in the headlights for a moment. "I'm not totally sure. But I know that she does some stuff to help Toby. On rare occasion."

CJ volunteered, "I have Carol handle my research."

Josh said, "But Carol very occasionally asks for help." And then after a pause he added, "She's also done a few things for the President." Josh finished with, "So, actually, she kind of does research for… everyone?" His tone was kind of sheepish. "Well, except for you. Margaret does all of yours."

Leo gave a half smirk. "Sometimes I think that the Assistants are the one running this place and if we just left it to them, most of it would get done faster."

Everyone else just nodded. "Okay. So what has everyone got today?"

Each senior staff member listed out their day and their priorities and, after confirming that Friday's meeting would be in the Oval Office, he sent them off to work.

* * *

Donna was back at it by 10:15, her class having gotten out a bit earlier than the 10:00 time listed on her schedule. At one point she glanced at the clock and then looked again. She looked over and saw that Josh was still at his desk. She got up and went over.

"Josh!" Josh looked up from his briefing memo. "Don't you have a 12:00?"

"Yes." He looked at his watch. "It's 11:25 – plenty of time."

Donna sighed. "No. It's 11:45. You have fifteen minutes. Which you would know if you had a watch that worked properly."

Even as Josh started to move almost frenetically he said, "It's a great watch. It just …"

Donna interrupted him. "Give me your watch and a credit card."

That caused Josh stop. "What?"

Donna looked at him with annoyance. "I can't take it anymore. You love your watch even when you know it's wrong. And it's getting worse. So give me the watch and your credit card. I'll take it to a jeweler who fixes watches. And then I won't have to chase after you on the days that you forget to reset your watch. Again."

Josh was oddly reluctant but finally handed it over. Donna looked at him and said, "Now get moving. When I get back, I'll tell you where it is and how long it's going to take."

"Fine," Josh said with some asperity and rushed out. Donna watched him and then walked over to the other desk. "Rebecca?" she asked.

Rebecca looked up from her desk. "You need something?"

Donna nodded. "Josh will be without even his crappy watch until it's fixed. So you're going to be in charge of making sure he follows the schedule we laid out. And if he gets pissy about it, just ignore him and repeat the reminder. Hopefully they can get this watch fixed fast."

Rebecca nodded. "I'll take care of it." Rebecca actually looked a bit relieved. Josh's tendency to be off just a bit was troublesome and made extra work sometimes. She was glad it was getting fixed.

* * *

It was 1:30 when Josh got back from his lunch meeting. Donna stopped him. "I found someone only a block from the White House. I gave him authorization for an extra $100 for a rush job."

"Where'd you take it?" Josh asked as he accepted his card back.

"Compton's Jewelers. Over on George." She paused and said, "Mr. Compton did explain that your watch _is_ a good one and that I should stop making fun of it."

Josh gave her a dimpled grin. "I told you."

Donna smirked back. "He also said that ignoring the problem was idiotic and you should have brought it in years ago."

Josh's grin disappeared slightly. "Okay." He then asked, "How long until it's ready?"

Donna sighed. "He said it's likely a worn or slightly bent gear. But he has Waltham parts on hand. So it might be done by Saturday. Tuesday latest."

Josh nodded. "What'll I do until then for a watch?" he asked out loud to himself.

Donna answered anyway with a slight smile. "Well, Rebecca has agreed to keep reminding you as necessary and when she's not here, I'll be doing it. Even though it shouldn't be necessary …" Donna reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a watch. "… because I provided the credit card information up front, he provided a loaner. Kind of like a collision shop. Give me your hand."

Josh reached his hand out and Donna affixed the watch. "There. Now you have a watch that'll keep time while yours gets fixed."

Josh nodded and then shook his wrist a bit. "It feels weird," he said in a slightly whiny tone. Donna fixed him with a look. Josh sighed. "But I guess I can deal with it for a couple days."

"Good. Now. What happened at your meeting?" The two walked into his office as Josh covered what had happened.

A/N: I used the name of a real jeweler near the White House. I don't know if Josh's watch was a Waltham, but I decided it was likely from his father and that's why he refused to buy a new one in the show. He would have been too young for his sister to have given him one before she died. It was never explained, but I just assume. Waltham watches have been around a long time and go from between a hundred to a couple thousand dollars. Some antiques are worth even more. It's the kind of thing a lawyer father would give to his son when he sends him out into the world or that he would inherit from his father.


	9. Watches and Gifts

Josh approached the small shop, loaner watch in hand.

It was Monday afternoon. Congress was now on a legislative break With the conventions around the corner, everyone was campaigning. With the RNC convention first, the White House was in a wait and see mode.

This was going to be the last quiet time in the next almost four months. Better to get everything taken care of now.

When he got to the door, he pushed the bell and the buzzer let him in. An older man was waiting. "Mr. Lyman, I presume?"

"Yeah. That's me. You're Mr. Compton?" he asked.

"Yes." The man reached down below the counter and pulled a small box up. "Your watch is ready here."

Josh walked up and set the watch he was carrying down and picked his up. Peering at it, he didn't see much different, except all the metal seemed polished. "So. What was wrong?"

Compton pointed to the box which had held the watch. Inside were two small metal gears. "These two gears. One was bent slightly, likely from some type of great impact."

Josh considered that. "I think that was from a car accident."

The man nodded. "Possible. And while it did not actually break the watch, the bend was just enough that it caused uneven wear on the gear it was most closely tied to. A watch is a precision instrument and any lack of precision in one piece causes damage in other pieces. It is good that you got this repaired now. In a year or two, more gears would have worn and it would have been much harder to fix. It might have needed an entirely new movement eventually."

Josh leaned down and peered at the gears. The bend in the one gear was _tiny_. He wouldn't have seen it if he wasn't looking closely. The second gear had very small inconsistencies between gears.

He stood up and sighed. "So Donna saved me a lot of grief my making me get it looked at?"

"That is the woman who brought it?"

"My assistant."

"Well, she saved you from buying some very expensive parts later."

Josh admired the watch he had put back on his wrist even as he said, "I guess I owe her a nice Christmas present."

The man smiled. "Something." Even as he inspected the returned watch he volunteered, "A nice watch of her own maybe?"

Josh was about to decline until he asked, "What've you got?"

The man peered at Josh for a moment to see how serious he was. Finally he said, "While I was looking your watch over, she was admiring some of the Lady Walthams I carry. Many are quite affordable. But when I asked, she deemed them a luxury."

Josh sighed even as he looked at the display. "I wish I could just give her a watch. We're federal employees. I can't even accept a gift from her because she works for me. Technically, there's nothing to stop her from receiving a gift, but because there can't be reciprocity, she doesn't like to get things that are too expensive. I can't even let her buy me lunch, even if I can buy her lunch. But she'll only let me when she has to do the work of going and getting it."

Compton had finished his inspection and put together the final bill for Josh to sign. "I've had a shop in Washington a long time. I know the limits." He gave Josh the slip and watched him sign it. "Does she have any special occasions coming up? Any 'special, infrequent occasions'?"

Josh considered it. "Well, in about 10 months she'll graduate from her degree program. With the credits she already had, credit for the work she does as my assistant, quite a lot of essays and reports, and attending a few classes each semester, she's going to finally get her degree. That doesn't happen regularly."

Mr. Compton nodded. "That would even allow her to receive an appropriate gift from a fellow employee who makes less than her. But I do believe it would be acceptable to gift her a watch for such an occasion."

Josh was hesitant but considered it. "I'll have to check with the Counsel's office to make sure. But that sounds good to me."

Mr. Compton looked at Josh with a small smile. "I plan on retiring soon – I've been in this location for quite a number of years. Even if you have to wait to gift it, I would enjoy preparing such a gift for someone who obviously means much."

Josh laughed lightly. "I'd be lost without her."

"Have you told her this?" Compton asked curiously.

"She knows. But I guess I could just say it plainly." Josh was dubious – he wasn't that type of boss.

"Maybe on the occasion of her graduation."

Josh considered that. "Well, start putting together what you think would be appropriate. I'll go and see Ainsley in the Counsel's office to make sure. Maybe expect a call in a couple of weeks?"

Alex Compton smiled. "I look forward to hearing from you."

Josh nodded and left.

* * *

Josh wandered to a nearby bench and sat down. In truth, he was a bit less than happy.

He had long been aware of how Donna made him feel. And while it was feasible to get around the limitations, it wasn't easy. And it wasn't fair.

He knew that a lot of times, politicians got around the ethical violations by treating their targets like a kept person. There was no law against employees receiving gifts from superiors.

Josh smirked to himself as he considered that the President would have been in a lot of trouble if that were the case as he liked to be generous.

But treating Donna like that would be disrespectful. And she would balk at such an idea.

There was a reason why more senior staff members avoided getting into relationships with people on the assistant level: It was far too easy to open the White House up to harassment claims.

Employees could technically accept gifts but it made such relationships too unequal.

In a way, the only thing that he could do about Donna was to keep his distance and hope that pushing her to finish her degree and by allowing her to make herself even more invaluable, someone other than himself would stumble on the idea of actually giving her a position comparable to his own.

And then, well, things could be quite different.

All he had to do was to keep his mouth shut and his personal feelings to the side until circumstances allowed him to move forward.

Josh sighed. He was not very good with keeping his mouth shut. It was going to be hell.

* * *

A/N: I kind of lost the drive to make a huge, long story on this. So I'm ending it here.

The story did allow me to give a realistic approach to how a relationship between two people in those circumstances could progress slightly differently.

As much as the idea of a superior/employee relationship could happen, within the bounds of actual law for federal employees in the executive branch specifically there are so many troubles.

There was a reason why the genre was friendship and not romance.

But at least this way was better than the way that the Josh character approached it in the actual West Wing series.

Feel free to adopt this story or this approach.


End file.
